Never Alone
by Dawsey813
Summary: *Female Firefighter* Follows Lieutenant Mackenzie Collins as she deals with the closing of Firehouse 17 and moving to 51 where an old friend works. Casey/Collins major friendship. CHAPTER 13 "Tonight's The Night" PART 1 NOW UP!
1. No Regrets Part 1

**Starts in 2x07 "No Regrets".**

**I've wanted to write this as my first CF story, a S2 rewrite with my OC, because I love the show so ****much. (Not to mention Herrmann's comments about female firefighters ticked me off. But that's a couple of episodes away.) And I needed something to tie me over until 1/7/14…which can't come fast enough. #SaveCasey.**

**I'll be adding my own calls, drama and romance to this as well, but it will mostly be following the rest of season two. So I hope you like this.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Chicago Fire.**

Chapter 1 - No Regrets Part 1

The weather was cool against her skin as she shoved her hands deep into her coat pockets. The uncertainty of what lies ahead as she walked the length of the driveway into Firehouse 51 was long forgotten as she remembered that she was doing what she loved.

The outside of the station was quiet as she walked past the firetrucks and came up behind a man who was sweeping the entrance. He was wearing a "Candidate" jacket.

"Excuse me?" she cleared her throat. The man turned towards her and smiled. "May I help you?"

"I sure hope so. Can you tell me where I can find Chief Boden?"

"Yeah, I'll show you." he said.

She followed him closely as he led her into the firehouse and down a hall towards a back office. Once there she thanked him and lightly rapped on the cracked door. "Chief Boden?"

"Yes. Come on in." Boden stepped from behind his desk and held out his hand as he greeted the woman. A man in a grey tee stood up as well and Mackenzie smiled at the person whom she hadn't seen in some time. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mackenzie."

"Likewise, sir." Mackenzie Collins says as she adjusted the duffel bag on her shoulder.

"Casey, this is-"

"Kensi?" Matthew Casey was surprised as he took in the sight of his childhood friend. He pulled her into a warm embrace. "It's good to see you,"

"You too, Matt."

"You two know each other?"

"Yeah, she's my sister."

Boden raised one eyebrow and Mackenzie spoke up. "We're not related by blood. But we grew up together and Matt is the closet thing I have to family."

"Well then," Boden said as he left his office to go gather the crew. "shift starts at the top of the hour. Casey, show her to her locker. When your finished come to the common room."

"You got it, Chief." Casey motioned for Kensi to follow him as he led her down a short hallway. "So how have you been?"

"Good, all things considered." she replied with a small sigh. The closure of the house she had been at since she became a firefighter was hard on her. And sadly there wasn't anything she could do to change that.

"Did the rest of your team get all set up?"

"For the most part. Two of them are still waiting for their reassignment."

"Well, I can't promise anything, but I think you'll get along with the guys on Truck."

Mackenzie scoffed. "They've managed to put up with you for how long? Shouldn't be too hard."

"Very funny." Casey said with a hint of humor. "Your gear is in the locker. I'll be in the common room."

"Thanks Casey."

Ten minutes later Mackenzie was ready with her auburn hair pulled back into a pony tail and her grey tee tuck nicely into her dark trousers. When Chief Boden began speaking to the rest of the group she waited in the hallway until she was called, praying silently that this wouldn't be like her first day on the job.

"Do to the closer of Firehouse 17, we are welcoming a new Lieutenant into this House. And," he added as the group clearly remembered the last time a new Lieutenant came into 51. "I trust you all will show respect." Boden paused and motioned Mackenzie to join him up front. She held her head high and scanned the room as the group took the sight of a new person in.

"This is Mackenzie Collins and she will be second in command on Truck. That is all."

Casey jumped to his feet and ushered Kensi over to meet the crew. "So with me on Truck we have Herrmann, Otis, Cruz, Mills and Mouch. Then on Squad we have Severide, Clarke, Capp and Vargas. And last but not least is our paramedics, Dawson and Shay.

"Guys, this is Kensi."

Kensi waved to the group, feeling slightly overwhelmed but very welcomed but the greetings she received. In the mist of it all the look of jealously on Dawson's face didn't go unnoticed, but she left it alone. "Hey."

"C'mon, I'll show you around."

A few minutes before roll call, Matt and Kensi were looking over the trucks. "Looks like the engine is loosing water."

"A couple seals are cracked." Cruz said. "Put in a request and the _Wizard_ said it would be a couple of weeks."

Casey sighed. "Sure we've got that long?"

Mackenzie walked around the house with little to do. She helped out where she could but mostly observed. It wasn't her first day on the job, but being in a new house made it feel that way. At least for the first hour or so.

Glancing out to the front of the house, Kensi saw Clarke talking with a woman who identified herself as his wife. But the looks of the conversation, whatever she wanted to talk about wasn't sitting well with the fireman. Finally, Clarke left as roll call was approaching and she followed him to the break room.

"Hey." Chief Boden greeted them. "Our house has been under the microscope lately, and everyone in the room has handled it like the professionals I know you to be. And that is why 51 is still going strong." Everyone but Herrmann applauded, the sullen look clear on his face as he knew what the chief was going to say next.

"And that is why in good conscience I am to announce my retirement from the CFD."

The room grew quite. Heads hung.

"It's been an honor to serve with you."

The alarm sounded throughout the house. "Engine 51, truck 81, squad 3, ambulance 61, battalion 25. Railroad incident."

"Let's go to work."

* * *

The trucks roared down the road towards the destination, lights flashing and sirens sounding. Mackenzie sat in the back of 81 in-between Herrmann and Mills, picking out bits of the ongoing conversation between the members.

"Did you know?" Cruz asked Casey.

"McLeod's been pressuring him." Matt replied.

"We just gotta get this call over with and talk him out of it." Herrmann says.

Otis smiled. "This will be quick. Five bucks says it's another cell phone on the tracks."

Mackenzie shook her head as the truck pulled up closer to the wreckage, helmet in hand and ready to get to work. "Fifty says it's not."

"Chief, I'm seeing multiple commuter cars derailed, at least a hundred fleeing passengers and several fires including the cars and a building."

"Did the train go into the building?"

"We're gonna need more alarms, chief."

"We got the passenger car." Severide said as he gave his men his orders.

"Herrmann, recon the tanker and get a handle on the car fires. Collins, check over there."

"Check the cars for victims. We've got more in the warehouse."

"All companies be aware that the overturned tanker is filled with propane. Work quickly and let's get those people out of those train cars."

Mackenzie jogged over to the nearest car and began to help a few of the victims who had climbed out of the windows. "Easy, easy. I got you." she said as a woman was lowered by a man to the ground. "Can you walk?"

The woman managed a swift nod. "Okay, head over there and you'll be taken care of." She repeated these actions until she was sure the car was clear then went to the next car.

"I've got at least 30 people still trapped in here, the doors are jammed."

Kensi walked over to where Capp was trying to pry the doors open but to no avail. After Clarke had grabbed a power saw from the truck, he began to cut a path into the car. "Alright, alright that's good. Help me slide it open. One, two, three!"

As soon as the doors were open enough, people filed out as quickly as they were able. "Watch your step, sir. I got you."

"Just keep going. Don't stop, c'mon." They were moving quickly to get the people to safety, keeping in mind of the overturned tanker.

"Hey, hey come here." Collins said to a young man who had only a slight limp but otherwise appeared to be in good shape. "I could use your help. Here," she motioned for the man to put his hand firmly on a woman's arm. "I need you to keep pressure on this and keep her talking. Alright?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Okay."

Suddenly part of the tanker exploded. "We need to get water on that tanker now!" Boden said through the walkies.

"Collins! You got this!" Casey yelled back.

"I've got it! Go!" Collins turned to the men as they ran the hoses over to the burning tanker. "Alright, we need to keep this tanker cool! Get water on those fires and shoot a line on top!"

Only seconds had passed before a whizzing sound reached Chief Boden's ears. He watched as a cap shot off and a stream of pressure was released near an unsuspecting Herrmann. Not thinking he lunged at the fire fighter and knocked him to the ground just as flames shot out.

"What was that?"

"The pressure release Valve's venting!" replied Herrmann. "Without it this thing is going to blow sky high!"

"We need to get these attack lines back. We're going defensive! Go back!"

**I think I'm going to separate each episode into two parts and if you guys like this, updates will be on the weekends because I don't have work.**

**And here are Kensi's outfits. Remove () (http) :/ (www) . (polyvore) .com(/lt_mackenzie_collins) (/set?id=107595543) and (http) :/ (www) . (polyvore) .com(/lt_collins_never_alone_c1) (/set?id=107595965)**

**Thoughts? Your reviews are what writers (like me) live off of!**


	2. No Regrets Part 2

**Thank you all who have reviewed/faved and followed. It means a lot. Here is the next chapter. #SaveCasey**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Chicago Fire.**

Chapter 2 - No Regrets Part 2

"This candle ever gonna go out?" Otis shouted over the roar of the flames.

Herrmann replied "That propane's gotta go somewhere. If it goes out then we got to worry."

"Chief, the pressure's falling on the pumper."

Boden went over to the truck to assess the damage for himself and saw that it wasn't good. "Son of a bitch. Collins, the Seals just popped, we've lost pressure."

"Herrmann, set up an Ariel pipe, we've got to squeeze every bit of water onto that tanker or it'll blow." Kensi said.

"Got it, let's go! Get out of here!"

They worked quickly and soon the pipe was set and ready to go. "Here comes the water, Lieutenant!"

"Let's hope it's enough." she said as she watched Boden and Mills disappear into the warehouse to look for the missing workers. "Casey, any luck?"

_"No, I'm still looking."_

"Do you need-"

"No, no, no." Cruz said from atop the truck as the pressure on the Ariel pipe began to fade. "That's it on the water. Engines fried, watch that tanker!"

"Chief, the heat destroyed the pressure release valve." Severide said into his walkie. "What do you want us to do?"

_"That tanker's gonna blow and is going to take the block with it." _Boden paused. _"This is battalion 25 to all fire and police personal. Evacuate the area to a 1/4 mile perimeter. Repeat, evacuate the area._

_"I'm going to need confirmation that all personal have pulled back to a safe distance."_

Mackenzie sighed and shook her head upon hearing her chief's orders. And knew that this was one she was going to break. "No. I'm not leaving."

"I've got a job to finish." Casey said in agreement. "Kensi, with me."

Severide said that his team would cover the tanker and Kensi went to aid Casey's search for Anna.

_"Uh, negative on that confirmation, Chief."_ Herrmann said.

"Anna!" Casey called out as he made his way into another car. He searched high and low with Collins doing the same on the other side.

"Anna, can you hear me?" Kensi looked under the seats and beneath luggage but found no sign of the young girl.

"Anna?" Casey made his way to the back of the car and saw a backpack and then part of a sweater.

"I don't see her, Casey." Matt lowered his head at the sight of a woman who didn't make it, and nodded before following Collins out of the car.

"Keep looking, I'm going to go see if her Dad knows where else she might be."

"Alright." Mackenzie searched under the car they just searched and the surrounding area. Still she didn't see the girl in the stripped sweater. Not even twenty seconds had passed before Matt came running over, pointing to a car that meters away.

"She's not here!" Kensi said as they reached the back of the car.

"Wait," Casey said as her peered through the back of the train car. "there."

"Anna!" the two lieutenant's ran over to a pile of gravel where the girl lay, unmoving.

Mackenzie pulled her gloves off and knelt down beside the girl to feel for a pulse. "Anna, can you hear me?"

"I need a backboard over here!"

"C'mon Anna. Open your eyes for me." Kensi gently shook the girl until she slowly opened her eyes.

"My dad?" she mumbled as she looked at the two firefighters.

A smile of relief washed over their faces. "He's waiting for you." Casey says.

Finally a backboard was brought over to take Anna to see her father and get the treatment she needed. Casey and Collins walked back to join the others when Chief Boden motioned them over. "You disobeyed orders."

"Yep. I suppose you taught us that." Casey says. "Chief, if it were up to me, you wouldn't be going anywhere."

"Thanks." Boden clapped Casey on the shoulder and then left.

"First day at 51," Casey and Kensi walked over to the trucks as they were finishing up. "not too bad."

Mackenzie laughed. "Yeah. It was something alright."

The ride back to the house was quite as everyone was lost in their own thoughts. When the trucks pulled to a stop, they filed out and was met with the presence of a woman in a green coat. A scowl instantly appeared on Kensi's face at the sight of Gail McLeod-the woman who shut down her firehouse.

"That was some good work out there today." she said as Chief Boden walked up to her. "It's calls like that that reflect well on this house."

"I don't give a damn about how it reflects. We can't operate without the support that we need."

"But you did today, didn't you? You worked with what you had and you saved lives." McLeod said with a smile. "With, might I add, a new lieutenant who had just arrived today.

"So whether you like it or not chief, the system works. But that's not your problem anymore." McLeod handed Chief Boden a folder, a smirk on her face. "This is for your exit interview tomorrow. Please fill it out and remember to bring your badge."

* * *

Morning came to find Mackenzie standing in front of her locker as the end of her shift neared. She held a photo of her Aunt Kelsey and herself standing in front of the firehouse the middle of her senior year of high school.

"I miss you so much," she murmured to herself as she taped the photo onto her locker door.

"Hey, Collins."

Kensi turned to face Dawson who was standing a few feet away. "Hey."

"A few of us are going to Molly's. We'd love for you to join us."

"Can't. I have some things I need to finished." Kensi said as she closed her locker. Grabbing her duffle bag she walks pass the paramedic. "Maybe next time."

"Yeah. Yeah, sure." Dawson replies.

Kensi says goodbye and takes her leave, stopping by Casey's office for a few seconds. Gabby shook her head as the two lieutenants talked briefly before hugging and going their separate ways.

As Collins made her way to her car, her cell began to ring. Removing it from her back pocket, she sighed as the number she recognized was shown on her screen. Pressing IGNORE, she unlocked her car and started the engine, wanting to get home after the previous days events.

Fifteen minutes later she pulled to a halt in front of her apartment. She had just unlocked her front door when she heard someone come up behind her.

"Mack!"

"Go away, David." she said without looking back as she drops her bag inside.

"Why haven't you been answering my calls?"

"Because we're over. I told you that."

David walked closer to Kensi, stopping just below her steps. "I just want another chance. Please? I know I made a mistake and-"

"I gave you another chance, and you blew it." she cuts him off as she heads inside.

"Mack-"

"Leave, David. Or I'm calling the cops."

Mackenzie shuts the door harder than necessary and fidgets with the lock for a few seconds before it finally turns. Thank goodness Casey had some spare time to come over and fix it for her later that day. She didn't want to think about David getting into her house because of a broken lock.

It was early evening when a knock sounded on her door. Kensi was in the middle of removing her dinner from the oven before she jogged to answer the door. "Hey, Casey. Thanks for coming." she greeted and ushered him in.

"No problem, Kenny." Casey says with a smile as he sets his bag of tools down. "You said it was the door?"

"Yeah, the lock actually. It jams more often than not."

"Huh," getting a better look where Mackenzie mentioned, Matt sighed. "The bolt is dented."

"What?"

"Here, feel that?" Kensi runs her fingers over the bolt and nods her head. "Any idea how that could have happened?"

"No clue," she replies, when in reality the only way something like that could have happened would have been by David just last week. Had he really tried to break into her house?

"Well, you'll need a new lock for sure. I can go to the store and stop by after shift to install it for you."

"I'd appreciate that." Mackenzie heads to the back to the kitchen and grabs a drink from the fridge. "Would you like to stay for dinner? Maybe fill me in on some need-to-knows with 51?"

"Sure."

They talked and caught up for the next couple of hours their meal before Casey left. "I'm glad you're at 51, Kensi."

Mackenzie smiled and pulled Casey into a hug. "Yeah, me too. Goodnight, Matt."

"Night."

The rest of the evening went by slowly with Mackenzie going over the reassignment papers that she needed to turn in the next day before shift and cleaning the kitchen. After she took a shower, she decided to unwind with catching up on some shows that were on her DVR.

When her eyelids became too heavy to ignore, Collins crawled into her bed and pulled the warm covers tight around her body, falling asleep seconds later.

**There is the end of episode 2x07. I'm working on 2x08 now and I'll be adding my own call to it, so I hope you stay for that.**

**Thanks again for the nice response to this story. Please take a few seconds to leave a review. I read and respond to them all (if I can) and they mean a lot to me as a writer.**

**Merry Christmas! xo**


	3. Rhymes With Shout Part 1

**Has anyone else seen the promo for 2x11? It was only 30 seconds and my feels are already acting up. Can't wait!**

**Here's another chapter for ya, complete with my own call. Let's see what Kensi can do!**

Chapter 3 - Rhymes With Shout Part 1

"Morning everybody." Chief Boden says as he walks into the break room. "I've got a quick announcement to make. Shay has transferred out of 51."

"T-transferred? As in past tense, as in not coming back?" Dawson stammers upon hearing the news.

"Correct." Boden says. "And it is her prerogative. Look. Shay served this house well. This here is Alan Choot and he is going to be working with us this shift."

"Chout, actually." the medic says. "Rhymes with shout. Great to meet you guys."

"I'm sure you will give him a warm 51 welcome." Chief Boden heads back to his office, leaving the rest of the crew to themselves. Mackenzie pours herself a cup of coffee and takes an empty seat, picking up a section of newspaper that was close by.

_"Engine 51, ambulance 61, truck 81, squad 3. Accident at Broad and Wacker."_ the alarm overhead sounds, alerting the teams of their next call.

The sirens wailed as they speed down the streets before coming to a halt at the site of the three car wreck. "Three car wreck, multiple victims. I need two more ambulances." Boden said over his walkie.

"Chief, we got the mini van." Kensi said as she and the rest of 81 headed over to check on the victim. Pulling on the door handles, she made her way around the van to try to get in.

"Copy that. Squad, take the other two cars."

"Casey, we got two booster seats!" Herrmann shouted.

"Check for kids, I got the driver." seconds later Herrmann informed the two truck lieutenants that there were no kids in the vehicle.

"Let's get these windows out." Collins said. After the glass was broken, Casey climbed into the van to see how the driver was doing, while keeping in mind the engine and growing smell of gas.

"Dawson, could use your help in the mini van." Casey says over the walkies. Taking a closer look at how the woman's legs were pinned he told Mouch to bring the small ram just as Gabby arrived.

Mackenzie kept an eye on Casey and Dawson and walked towards the front of the badly damaged van, towards where the strong smell was coming from as the victim was being brought out on a stretcher. But before she could inspect further, the vehicle burst into flames, the people inside disappearing from her view. "Get the extinguishers on it!" she shouted.

The time that passed seemed like forever before Dawson was helped out of the van window with Casey right behind her. "You okay?" she asked the medic.

"Yeah, fine." Dawson said with a nod. Casey came up behind the two and asked the same thing to which Dawson said she was good. The flames in the van came to life once more before the team worked to put it out as the victims were taken to the hospital.

Back at 51 Mackenzie was eating an apple in the break room when someone, Kelly Severide was it?, took the empty seat across from her. She glanced up over the book she was reading. "Severide, right?" she asked to make sure. This being only her second shift, she was still working on putting the correct names to the faces she saw through the day.

"Yeah." Severide said with a smile.

"Can I help you with something?" Kensi asks as she closed her book so that she wouldn't be taken as being rude.

Severide shrugged. "Just thought I'd come over. Say hi, get to know you a bit. The last lieutenant we had come over was a total ass. Long story."

"Hmm. Well, what do you want to know?"

"How long have you known Matt?"

Mackenzie leaned back in her chair. "Man, a long time. Really for as long as I can remember. His house was a block from mine so growing up we spent a lot of time together. He's like the big brother I never had."

Kelly nodded. "So your parents must be proud of you. Not many female firefighters around. No offense."

"None taken." she waves her hand in dismissal.

"Kensi, training exercise out front in ten." Casey says in passing.

"We'll finish this another time." she says as she goes to get ready, leaving Kelly alone, secretly thankful that another conversations about her parents had been avoided. And eight minutes later she was ready for the drills.

"Ready? Lift." Casey says as he leads 81 in ladder drills. "Okay. Take it down. Good, we're going again. Mouch, sit out. Herrmann, take my place. Mills for Kensi and Otis for Cruz."

"What the hell is goin' on?" Mouch gasped as he took his rest. "Why isn't Collins sucking in oxygen?"

"What's the matter, Mouch? Ladder drills too much?" Kensi says with a playful grin. Truth is she was just as tired as the men were, but she was use to doing drills like this on a regular basis.

"No. No, I just don't see how you-"

"You should stop while you ahead or she'll have you doing something much worse." Herrmann joked. "Besides, Casey's probably got some steam to blow off."

Leaving the men to finish the drills, Kensi followed Casey who had stepped off to the side. "Everything alright?"

"Hm, yeah." he replied quickly. When Kensi raised one eyebrow Matt sighed. "It's complicated."

"Amuse me."

Casey then told Mackenzie about his feelings for Dawson as they took off their gear and headed for the common room. "We kinda went down this road before and I blew my chance. Now... I don't know."

"Dawson seems like a good girl. What do you think you should do?"

"I don't."

Kensi smiled. "You will. And when you do, don't waste time thinking about the past."

* * *

_"Truck 81, squad 3, ambulance 61, battalion 25. Accident at…" _the alarm sounded overhead, causing the teams to stop what they were doing. Once they were dressed, the trucks pulled out of the bay and headed towards the accident scene. As they drove away, Mackenzie noticed a man standing across from 51, hands shoved into his pockets and a blank expression on his face.

"Do you know that guy?" Mills asked when he noticed her gaze.

"He's nobody." Kensi evenly replies, though her mind is questioning what David was doing and why. But she quickly put the thought aside as the scene came into view minutes later.

The images of a short school bus, having ran through the bridge guard rail, hanging over the water below and an SUV resting on a curb was enough to alert the crews that time was of the essence. "We've got a two vehicle crash. Squad take the bus, it might not hold for much longer. Truck, take the SUV." Boden says then turns to Dawson and Chout. "We don't know about injuries and it's unknown how many kids aboard plus the driver, so I want you here while Truck works to get the SUV driver out. Severide, I need a status on those passengers."

Kelly ran over to the railing to get a better look inside but couldn't get too close in fear of one wrong move that could send the bus plummeting into the waters below. "I can't get a good view from the ground, I'm going to have to go in. Clarke, get me a secured line."

Kensi had just arrived at the SUV when the creaking of the bus reached her ears. She looked over her shoulder just as Severide was backing up away from the shifting bus. "Casey," she said.

Matt noticed the situation Squad was facing and knew what Collins was thinking. "Go, we've got this covered."

Not wasting any time, Kensi ran over to Chief Boden as he was talking to Severide about what to do next. "…saw five kids and the driver before it shifted."

"We can't risk another go, Severide. That bus could go with one wrong move and take you all with it."

"But we can't do nothing!"

"It's too dangerous. We'll find-"

"Chief, send me." Mackenzie said coming into view. "I weigh less so it won't shift as much and I have basic rescue training. Severide can talk me through any thing else."

Boden started to shake his head. "Sir, this is our only chance. I can do this."

"She's right, Chief."

The bus creaked again behind them. "Go."

In spite of the cool weather, Kensi took off her coat to lighten her weight more as Clarke fitted her with a harness. "I saw three kids more towards the back of the bus so get them first, one at a time. Then carefully make your way to the front, and keep your weight even."

"Okay. Choot, stand by to check for injuries. Dawson I need you by the railing. Talk to the kids to keep them calm." Kensi said as she double checked her gear.

"I've put in a call to the school so we can get these kids to they're parents." Boden said to Collins.

"Got it. I'm ready." Severide and Clarke carefully lifted Kensi so she could open the emergency back door. Once she had it open, she eased her way on to the bus and took in the situation.

"Hey, my name's Kensi. Me and my friends are gonna get you guys out of here." she said in a soothing voice to the terrified children. "Come on,"

_"What's it look like in there, Collins?"_ Severide's voice came over the walkie.

"I have five kids all around the age of eight, no injuries from what I can see. Sending the first one your way." it was a few of painstakingly long minutes later before all five kids were out of harms way. "Chief, I'm heading towards the driver now. Severide, I need a second harness." Kensi said before she worked her way to the front of the van.

_"McLeod's cutbacks have left us short. That's the only one we have."_

"Shit." she murmered to herself, racking her brain as she descended. She could tell that the driver wasn't much bigger than herself, and probably weighed less than 200lbs.

She could do this.

Once there, she saw that he semiconscious. "Hey, buddy. Can you hear me?" she asked when she noticed his eyelid fluter.

"Wha-"

"My name's Kensi, I'm gonna get you out of here. Can you tell me your name?"

"H-henry. My chest hu-hurts."

"Dawson, I've got a male and he's complaining about chest pai-" suddenly the bus tilted forwards, causing discarded backpacks to fly towards the remaining people in the bus.

_"Collins! Get out of there!"_ Boden's voice came over the walkies and Kensi knew she had to move fast.

"Headed your way. All right Henry, let's go." gathering the dazed man into her arms was no easy task as she was careful of any injuries he had, but Mackenzie managed quickly and led him back the way she came, the growing slant of the bus making the journey more difficult.

The exit was less than ten feet away when the ground disappeared.

Mackenzie knew that as soon as the bus jerked forward it was going to try to take them with it, so she grabbed onto Henry tightly and positioned her body directly in the middle of the door as someone's voice echoed through her walkie yelling her name.

**Review, please? I'll probably get the next part posted tomorrow or Sunday.**

**#SaveCasey**


	4. Rhymes With Shout Part 2

**There's a Casey/Collins and Severide/Collins scene in this chapter. :)**

Chapter 4 - Rhymes With Shout Part 2

It happened too fast. Kensi didn't even cry out as the bus fell from the bridge and into the water with a resounding splash. She felt her body jerk hard as the line caught her and Henry but the security was short lived as the man in her grasp began flailing in a panic.

_"Kensi!"_

"Ahhh!" Collins clenched her teeth together as Henry began slipping from her hand.

"Oh god! Oh god, I can't-"

"Henry-stop! Stop moving, I won't drop you!"

_"Collins! Collins, can you hear me?"_ came Boden's voice over the walkie.

With her left hand holding onto Henry's right arm and her right hand searching franticly for the rope to give her some kind of balance, Kensi replied in a strained voice. "I'm here. Don't know how long I can hold out like this!"

She then turned her eyes to the man who was holding on to her hand. "Henry. Henry, I need you to stop moving and listen to me. Okay?"

"Y-yeah."

"I need you to climb up here to me so my team can pull us up."

"I can't! I won't make it!"

"Yes you can. You have too." Henry tried to adjust his grip on the person holding him but ended up slipping. Kensi knew she was losing him and had to get him focused on something else. "You got a family, Henry?"

"N-no. A girlfriend." Good, this could work.

"Okay, think about her." Kensi felt the line sway as Henry tried to get some traction on her arm but couldn't do anything to help him until he was up higher. "Now reach for my hand. Come on,"

Mackenzie let go of her line and reached out her right hand towards the man who hand managed to climb an inch higher. "A little bit more."

After what felt like hours, Henry was high enough for Kensi to pull him up the rest of the way and then wrap both of her arms around the man. "Okay! Okay, we're ready!" she said in to her walkie.

Kensi felt the tug on her line as they were pulled up. A few seconds passed before hands grabbed on to Henry to lead him to safety and then multiple pairs of hands reached to help get her back on solid round.

She knelt down a few meters from the gaping hole in the side of the bridge to catch her breath, waving to a thankful Henry who was being looked over by Dawson and Chout in the ambo.

"Mackenzie!" Casey says as he kneels by her side and places a hand on her shoulder, causing her to wince. He looked at her with slightly worried his eyes when a small trickle of blood began to run down her face. "Are you okay?"

"Fine. It's just a scratch." he helped her get to her feet and someone helped her get out of her harness, she didn't see who it was as she was watching a figure being loaded into a waiting police car.

"The SUV driver was drunk." Casey said. "Other than that, he's okay."

"Oh," was all she could say.

"Collins." Boden says getting her attention. "Good work today."

"Thanks, Chief."

* * *

Back at 51, Mackenzie headed straight for the restroom after she removed all of her gear. She hadn't said but a few words since they wrapped up the last call and thankfully nobody said much. Once in the restroom, she took off her grey tee and turned towards the mirror so she could see her back.

"Ah, damn." she swore at the sight of the dark bruise ran from her left shoulder to just above her left hip. Thinking back she realized she was clipped by the emergency exit door that was swinging shut as the bus sailed off of the bridge. She gently fingered it to see how bad it was she the door to the restroom opened.

"Kensi, are you sure you're-" Casey says as he walked in, stopping suddenly at the sight of the bruise. "What the hell?"

"I'm fine." she says to try to ease her friends worry. "Looks worse than it actually is."

"Is that from today?"

Kensi nodded and allowed Casey to get a closer look, wincing a little when he touched it. "Dammit, Kensi."

"What?"

"That was dangerous! That's what! I shouldn't have let you-"

"Let me do my job? This job is dangerous in case you haven't noticed, Matt. It's what I sighed up for when I became a fire fighter." Mackenzie pulls her shirt back on and tucked it into her trousers.

"You should've let Severide handle it. You're not on Squad."

"No, I'm not. But I was the only one able to get those kids and tge driver out of that bus because I don't weigh as much as Severide or anyone else on Squad." she said dryly. "Perks of being a woman in this field, I guess."

Casey sighed and stepped closer to his fellow lieutenant. "I'm sorry, Kensi. I could have lost you. I guess it's different, harder, now that we're in the same house. I feel like I should be watching over you like when we were younger."

"But it doesn't have to be, because we're not kids anymore." Kensi went to leave when Casey spoke up again.

"When are you going to tell me the real story behind the scars on your back?"

Kensi paused mid stride, door half open when she thought back to how she got the scars he was referring to and put on a smile. "Maybe when your ready to hear it."

The end of shift came and Mackenzie was putting her jacket on as she left the locker room when she nearly ran into Severide. "Sorry," she said as she stopped herself short.

"It's alright. I was actually looking for you." the squad leader replied. "That was some good work out there today. Really."

"Just doing my job."

"Yeah, I know. But you helped prevent that accident from becoming worse than it already was."

"Severide-"

"Just hear me out. Honestly, I'm not use to having a female on the team who can do what you do. With Dawson it's different, was with Shay too, since they're medics and don't really-"

"Kelly?" Kensi interrupted the now rambling man, fully understanding what he was trying to get at. "You don't need to explain yourself or your actions. It was in the heat of the moment and the situation was resolved."

"Right. Well, I need to get going, but, uh, would you like to grab a drink after shift sometime?"

Mackenzie Collins wanted to say no right away, still fighting with David to leave her alone. Messy relationships seemed to follow her no matter what she tries to do so what makes Kelly Severide any different?

For starters, he's a fire fighter as well. In the same house as her which could become a problem. But still...

"Sure. That would be nice."

"Great. I'll see you later."

"Later." Kensi sat in her car as she thought back to the day's events, something of a bad habit that she really couldn't shake. The bruise was more of a dull nagging sensation now than it was earlier but still present. She realized that it would probably take a week or so to disappear completely and have no effect on her abilities to do her job. Her phone buzzed an alert and she scanned the text from Casey.

_'I know now. Thanks.'_

Starting the engine, she pulled away from the curb and went to get something for dinner before going home.

Thirty minutes and one cheap sub sandwich later, Mackenzie turned on to her street. She was about to pull into her driveway when a light shining in her spare room on the second floor prevented her from doing so.

Instead of confronting the person she assumed was David, she drove a block further and parked beneath a large tree and dialed 911. "Yes, I'm reporting a break-in." she gave her the address and stayed on the line until she saw flashing lights.

After getting out of her car, she pointed out the room she saw the light and shadow in to the two officers and waited across the street. Thankfully there was no gunfire and less than three minutes passed before a man was being brought out in handcuffs.

"Do you know this man, ma'am?" one of the officers asked. Kensi stepped a bit closer and shook her head. It wasn't David.

"My name is Detective Dawson." said a different man said as he held up his badge. Mackenzie introduced herself and let the detective continue. "And that is one member of a gang we've been chasing for the last couple of years or so. He had this on him." Detective Dawson held up an evidence bag with what looked like a 9mm hand gun.

"I thought it was my ex-boyfriend. What was he looking for?"

"Not sure. We only have pieces of the story, but rumor has it that he and his crew have been going through a bloody turf war with a rival gang on the other side of town. Apparently a firefighter witnessed some heavy stuff while on a call on the border of this war that could put some of the guys away for a long time." Dawson says. "No one really knows what happened since the case had been put under lock and key and both sides had been quite."

"Until now." Kensi sighs.

Detective Dawson looked at Mackenzie with questioning eyes. "Is there something you need to say? You can tell me."

Looking at the officers who were processing her house and the ones who were standing a few feet off, Kensi motioned for the detective to follow over to where she had left her car. She took a deep breath, "If you need to write this down, fine. But you can't tell anyone."

At Detective Dawson's nod, Collins said, "I'm the fire fighter they're looking for."

**I hope you can take a few seconds to leave your thoughts in a review. I love reading them. :)**

**#SaveCasey**


	5. You Will Hurt Him Part 1

**Tuesday. #SaveCasey**

Chapter 5

Mackenzie stood in the shower with her head resting against the wall as beads of hot water gently massaged her bruised back before rolling down the drain.

She replayed the conversation she had with Detective Dawson over in her head as she tried to figure out her next move. The very fact that she was staying in a hotel being a good sign that the situation was as real as it felt.

_'It was two, two and a half years ago. A lot has changed since that day, but the story itself is a long one.'_

_'Well this guy came prepared. I need to know what really happened.'_

_'The detective who was on this case kept the circle of people small, I don't know why but he told me not to talk to anyone but him. I don't want someone catching wind of this.'_

_'What house are you at? I can stop by on your next shift, maybe this guy will give me something in the meantime.'_

_'51. My next shift is Tuesday.'_

_'Okay. We don't know if more will show up so do you have someone you can stay with for a couple of days?'_

_'No, I don't.'_

_'Then stay at a hotel, here's my number. Call if anything comes up. I'll see you Tuesday.'_

Today was Tuesday. She had a whole day to herself to go over everything and it didn't become any easier.

She quickly dried herself off and got dressed for the day. Even though her shift didn't begin for a few more hours, Kensi couldn't stay in the hotel any longer.

Grabbing her bag that was ready to go, she headed for the parking lot where she got in her car and drove.

Soon she found herself parked a block away from 51. No one she knew was there yet and she didn't have any other place to go. Sleep had evaded her and the only thing keeping her eyes open was the caffeine from her second cup of Starbucks.

Kensi felt for her phone that was in her bag and noticed that she had ten missed calls and messages from Casey. She sighed and got out of her car, coffee in hand, and trudged through the bay doors and to the locker room, wondering what her friend needed.

"Kensi!" she heard someone come jogging up behind her and took a sip of her drink. "Where have you been? You didn't answer any of my messages." Casey said as he fell into step with Mackenzie.

"Yeah, sorry, my phone was off."

"All day?" Casey questions with a hint of worry and playfully places the back of his hand against her forehead. "You feel kinda warm."

Stress. It was defiantly stress. Kensi shook her head. "Might be a 24 hour bug or something. I'm fine." she cleared her throat and glanced around the hall before asking in a low voice. "So, uh, no details, but," Collins dragged out the last word and brought the corners of her mouth up into a smile.

"Dawson and I, we're," Casey shrugged. "we're good. Real good. Thanks for the push, Kensi."

"Nah, I didn't do anything. But I'm glad you two are, well, you know." Kensi giggled as she gave Matt a playful punch and made her way to the common room.

She didn't get very far before Dawson came up to her. "Hey, Collins."

"Dawson. What's up?"

"So you and Casey, you two are close, right?" Gabby meets Kensi's eyes. "I thought you two were, uh, a thing and I didn't want to be that girl who-"

"Matt's like the brother I never had." Kensi doesn't mention that although her father is still alive and well, as far as she knows, Matt Casey is all she has.

"Yeah, yeah he told me the same thing. It's just, when you first came in and he was so happy-" she sighed.

"He's happy with you. You're the best thing that's happened to Casey, Dawson. And he knows it." Dawson's phone chimes and she quickly read the message, her eyes going wide which cause Kensi to laugh.

"You two stay out of trouble."

Mackenzie had just sat down to eat a bowl of cereal when the alarms sounded over head. "_Truck 81, ambulance 61. Officer in distress, Bishop and Huron."_

"Collins," Chief Boden came into view with an unreadable expression on his face. "my office."

"Lieutenant, what's-" Mills started as he came jogging in, but didn't continue when he saw Boden.

"Tell Casey I needed her. You'll be fine." he says.

"Yes sir."

Mackenzie followed Boden to his office where Detective Dawson was waiting and exchanged greetings. After explaining the situation to the chief, Antonio went over what little information he got from the guy who broke into Kensi's house.

"I need you to tell me what happened. In your own words." the detective said.

Kensi sighed and shoved her hands into her pockets. She had hoped that she would never have to tell this story again, it was hard enough the first time around, but if it meant that this would soon be over there was nothing she could do but tough it out.

"It was two, two and a half years ago, a routine call in one of the rougher neighborhoods. When we pulled up we saw heavy smoke and I ordered a primary search for victims since neighbors had said a mother and her son were home but they couldn't reach them.

"I took two of my men to sweep the second floor where the smoke was the heaviest and found the mother unconscious in the hall. One took the mother while the other used an extinguisher on the fire that was coming from the bathroom to keep it back while I continued to look for the kid.

"I found the son locked in his closet and he was having trouble breathing. He had an empty inhaler clutched in his hand and he might not have made it if I hadn't put my mask on him before carrying him down stairs. That's when things went south." Collins paused to make sure that both men were following before continuing.

"Bullets wizzed by before I saw who shot them, but I heard his voice. He slept saying that he wanted the mother and son, something about payback. We were pinned in the kitchen, near a side door but in was in full view of the shooter so I grabbed what ever was within arms reach, a bottle I think, and threw it to the other side of the room.

"He fired at the sound and I took off running with the kid in my arms. He wasn't moving, barely breathing. I had just gotten to the ambo when everything went black." she shook her head and took a slow breath. "I woke up three days later in the hospital. I took two rounds to my back. The doctors told me if it hadn't been for my tank a third bullet would've hit my spine, paralyzing me for sure.

"I was filled in over the week I was in the hospital that the mother was the girlfriend of a leader of a gang that all but ran that side of town. The shooter was there to send a message by taking her out and bringing her son into his crew. Apparently they wanted to make a scene out of it, thus the fire.

"Everything after that is blurry or Detective Holloway didn't want me to know. I'm sure he'll give you his locked report."

"Holloway? Jack Holloway?" Dawson asked.

"Yeah. He oversaw the entire thing. When the case grew cold, he accepted a promotion in Michigan."

Antonio pinched the bridge of his nose. "Holloway died in the line of duty last year. It's gonna be hard to get his files on the case without raising too many flags."

"Did you find out anything about the guy in my house?" Kensi spared a glance at Boden who hadn't uttered a word the entire time. She wondered was going on in the head of his.

"He let it slip that he was ordered to stake out the house, nothing else. But he wanted to take something as souvenir which is why he was inside." says Dawson. "Funny thing is, I don't think the order came from his own crew. I think someone on the outside payed him and I'm going to look into it. You can go home too. I gotta go talk to a few of your men, but I let you know what else I find."

Detective Dawson was gone just as the sound of the guys returning to the house reached Boden's office, leaving the two firefighters to talk alone.

"How're you holding up?" he asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. Just wish this was behind me."

"I undersand. Just know, you have a family here at 51. Whatever you need."

"Thanks, chief, but I don't want the guys to know about this. Especially Casey."

Boden folded his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. "Why not?"

"You guys have a great thing going here, and I don't want to mess with that. As far as Casey, I just don't think I can tell him."

Boden rose from his chair and crossed the short distance to his lieutenant. "You two have a great relationship. Tell him and let him be there for you."

Kensi smiled a thank you before turning to leave. "If you need the rest of the day off, it's yours. Just say so." she heard behind her.

"I'm good, Chief." as she walked passed the common room where the group was eating lunch, Kensi sent Casey a quick text and headed for the bay.

The day was wet and cold. A few minutes passed before she saw the blue eyes of her friend come into view. "Kensi? Everything all right?" he asked with a clear look of worry on his face as he gave her an apple.

Collins looked around to see if anyone was near by before she began. "There's something I need to tell you."

**If you're following this then that must mean you like it! Please take a few moments to leave a review.**

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	6. You Will Hurt Him Part 2

**Yea for Casey/Collins and Severide/Collins moments.**

Chapter 6

Mackenzie sat on the front of truck 81 as she watched Casey pace back and forth in front of her. He hadn't said a word since she finished telling him the truth about her scars and how she really got them. She even told him everything that's happened since and really didn't know how to feel once she was done.

"Please talk to me." she says in a low voice.

"And say what? Tell me Mackenzie, what should I say?" Casey paused to look at her before continuing to pace out in the cold.

Kensi was slightly taken aback; he never called her by her full name. Just like she never called him Matthew. "I don't know. I get that your pissed but what was I suppose to do? I couldn't tell you."

"Why not? That's what I don't get is why you never told me."

Kensi stood up, running her fingers through her hair. "Do you remember how I told you I was going to be a firefighter? It was the night before I reported for the first day at the academy and my plan was to get you drunk so you wouldn't be mad at me...because I knew you would be. Instead I took you to the Navy Pier and we watched the fireworks."

Casey ceased his pacing and flexed his numb fingers, willing the coldness away. "Yeah. I wasn't expecting that. Thought you just wanted to hang out because we hardly saw each other anymore."

"Because you were a firefighter, going on two years then." Collins looked out towards the streets, a few cars passed by but nothing more. "Maybe it was I wanted to be like my Aunt Kelsey, because I didn't want to let her down after all she did for me growing up." Kensi turned to Matt and looked him in the eyes. "Or maybe I wanted to be like my big brother. Because I admired him so much."

"Kensi-"

"No, Matt. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, it killed me to lie like I did, but I'm not that little girl who would crawl into your bed because of nightmares. You don't need to protect me anymore." Kensi took a shaky breath to calm her nerves.

Casey pulled Kensi into a hug, rubbing her back with small circles. "You might not be a little girl anymore, but you'll always be my little sister." Casey kissed Kensi's forehead and looked her in her eyes. "Do you remember what I always told you when you had nightmares?"

"Yeah. I'm never alone."

"Never alone."

* * *

Kensi was walking down the hall when she noticed Severide standing off to the side with a worried look on his face. "Everything okay?" she asked.

"What?" Kelly sighed when he saw Collins and shook his head. "No. It's Shay. She didn't show up for her shift today."

"Shay, Shay," Kensi thought back to her first day at 51. She remembered a blonde woman who she only spoke to in passing a few times. "Oh, right. Is she okay?"

Severide shrugged. "I don't know. These days few days have been messy."

"Well, if you need anything, just ask."

"Thanks. Have you seen Dawson by any chance?"

_"Truck 81, squad 3, ambulance 61, person trapped at..."_

Mackenzie gave Severide a half smile and jogged over to the truck to put her gear on when Casey said, "If you need to take time off-"

"I'm fine, really. Don't worry about me."

Soon the teams were on the scene, in-between two apartment buildings. The first thing Kensi saw was a frantic woman standing off to the side but no one else. "It's still running! Make it stop, make it stop!"

"What's running?"

"The trash compactor. Make it stop!" she says and point in front of her. "My husband-he dropped his cell phone down the trash chute and climbed in after it!"

Collins ran over to where the main controls were and attempted to stop the device but it didn't work. She could hear the man screaming over the running motor when she called out, "Where's that halligan!?"

Mills came running over with the tool and she quickly got to work on loosening the bars. "We're gonna need something other than this to get it open!"

"Sev, you figure it out?" Casey said.

"Nah, I can't reach the ratchet binder on the side. It's too close to the wall."

"Mills, I need that ax!" Casey says and as soon as he's ready, he motions for Kensi to get out of the way. Collins wipes her brow and backs over to where rescue squad is cutting through the hinges of the door.

She hears the metal shift over the chaos. "Careful! Hydraulic pressure is putting a lot of strain on that door!" Kensi hadn't finished speaking when she saw that the door was going to swing open. She tackled an unsuspecting Clarke to the ground just as it slammed loudly into the nearby wall.

"What the hell was that about, Collins!" Clarke yells as he shoves her roughly off of him.

"Just watching your six, Clarke." she says as she get to her feet, unfazed by the sudden outburst.

"Hey, take it easy." Severide says. "You guys okay? Clarke? Collins?" both said they were fine, brushing the matter off.

"Okay, let's go."

* * *

"Hey, Collins?"

Kensi looked up from her locker to find Clarke standing to her side. "Clarke,"

"Thanks for the save today. I shouldn't have been an ass about it." he says.

"No problem." she removed her jacket and bag before closing her door and waited for him to say what was on his mind.

"I knew this woman, Jen, when I was overseas. Hard worker, tough, strong willed, never took no for an answer type of woman. I had so much respect for her." Clarke says. "You.. remind me of her."

Kensi sighed. She wanted to wonder what happened to her, but didn't feel like that was her place. So she smiled. "Thanks, Clarke."

"See ya," Jeff says.

Kensi had just reached her car when Severide pulled to a stop in the middle of the street. "Nice ride." he says as he looks as the newer sleek Camaro.

"Thanks. Early birthday present from my father."

"I'm more of a classic guy," he laughs as Kensi eyes her older Mustang before unlocking her car and tossing her things in the back. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure." Kensi listens as he fills her in about his half-sister graduating from culinary school that night and how her family wouldn't be there. "I understand if you can't come but-"

"No, no it's fine. I'll come. Lead the way." Ten minutes later finds Kensi and Kelly walking the steps to a building. They followed the sound of people cheering and walked in just as a man standing behind a podium announced "Katie Nolan."

They applauded as Kelly's sister crossed the stage and greeted her after the ceremony was finished. "Congrats, Katie." Kensi says. She only met her once back at the house and didn't really know what else to say.

"Thank you. I'm sorry Kelly dragged you alone." she says.

"Oh, it was not problem."

"And to celebrate, the first round of drinks is on me." Severide throws his arm over Katie's shoulder and they walk down to his car. Following in her Camaro the arrived at Molly's and was welcomed with a group of people cheering as soon as Kate walked through the door.

Severide pulled Collins aside once he had their drinks. "Thanks for coming, Mackenzie. It means a lot to me. And Katie."

Taking a swig of the offered beer, Kensi replies, "Kensi. And glad I could make the moment more memorable for your sister."

Severide smiled and the two made small talk until Kensi said she had to go. "Thanks for the drink, Kelly."

* * *

"Thanks for giving me a ride on such short notice." Kensi says as she gets out of Severide's mustang and walks up the driveway to 51. "Didn't make it to the gas station last night like I wanted to."

"My pleasure."

"Hey! Look who's back!" Herrmann says with excitement as Dawson and Shay join the growing crowd.

"Hey guys." the blond waves to everyone and Severide is quick to give a hug.

Kensi pulls on the straps of her bag as she enters through the bay door with everyone else when they stop short. "What the hell is this?" Boden asks from the front of the group. Collins makes her way to Casey's side to see what the problem was when she saw McLeod standing a few meters away with a stack of papers in her arms.

"These are the new assignments for your people." she replies.

"New assignments?" says Mills from the back.

"Yes. As I understand it truck 81 and squad 3 hacked their way into a $40,000 dollar trash compactor, rendering it inoperable."

"In the corse of saving a man's life."

"All the same the property owner is now holding the department responsible."

Chief Boden stepped closer to McLeod. "That's not gonna fly and you know it."

"Whether or not this case goes forward, chief, that liability risk was everything I needed to convince my bosses, so..." Gail McLeod raised her voice more and eyes the crowd of firefighters and paramedics that stood behind Chief Boden. "You all have one more shift together. And firehouse 51 will be closing."

**Review, please?**


	7. Not Like This Part 1

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 7

"Five bucks, right?"

"No."

"Yeah!"

Mackenzie ran her finger around the mouth of her glass, the untouched beer staring wordlessly back at her as Severide and Clarke and Herrmann made some sort of bet that involved a flaming shot glass. She wasn't feeling up to drinking, even though that's what she said she needed after McLeod informed everyone that 51 would be closing.

Finally she tipped her glass back just as the guys broke out into a small fit of laughter. "Can't believe they're closing us down. 51 save my life, man." Clarke breaks the silence from the end of the bar. Kelly nodded next to him and Kensi was to his right.

"My career is over. Just like that." Collins pushed her drink and asked Herrmann to bring her some water instead.

Kelly placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't say that. There are plenty of houses in this city who would be honored to have a lieutenant like yourself."

"Kelly's right. You kick ass." Clarke says.

"Did you know I was the only female who completed my class? Three of us started out...guess it was just too much for them."

"Yeah, she said you'd be here." an accented voice said behind the ground. Clarke turned around and the smile on his face disappeared. Mackenzie looked at the three men who stood by the door, wondering what they wanted.

"Wow. Turn around. Go." Jeff says with a shake of his head.

"Two grand, Clarke. That's what I gave your wife." the man in the front said. "So either I get it back, or I call it what it was: a business transaction between a man and a whore."

Clarke shoved the bar stool back and stalked towards the men. Kelly and Kensi both reacted fast, Severide grabbing Jeff from behind and Collins stepping in-between the men to prevent blows from being exchanged.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!"

"Get the hell out of here, Hayes! Next time I see you I will kill you! You hear me? I'll kill you!"

"You're not gonna pay?" Hayes sneers. "I'll just have to collect it myself."

"Leave. Now." Kensi says forcefully, her feet firmly planted.

"This a friend of yours, Clarke?" Haynes stepped closer to Kensi, looking at her with lust. "You know I accept other forms of paym-"

Before Haynes could make a move, Kensi punched him right in his nose while pulling out her phone.

"Get lost or I'm calling the cops!"

They watched the men leave and all let out a sigh of relief a few minutes later. "You should put some ice on that," Herrmann notes from behind the bar.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll take care of it when I get home." grabbing her coat and paying for her drinks, she bid the guys a goodnight and says she'll she them in the morning for their last shift together. Kelly offers to walk her to her car.

"Hey, Mackenzie? I'm sorry about all that." says Clarke.

"Don't worry about it."

Outside in the cold Chicago air, Severide opened Mackenzie's door. "So, I was wondering, since we're going to be at different houses now, if I could take you out to dinner?"

"It took our house closing for you to ask?"

"No." Severide shrugged when Kensi gave him a look. "Maybe."

"Dinner would be nice." the engine roared to life as Kelly shut the Camaro door. "See you in the morning."

* * *

"I hear you, Jim. Trust me. We have done everything we can to try to save this house." Collins walked out to the bay area where a small crowd of neighbors were gathered together as they listened to Chief Boden break the news about the house closing.

"Where's the next closest house? Five miles away? What's that do to response time?" a mother asked worriedly.

"It doesn't help. That's for sure."

"So how do they justify it."

"Like most things, it comes down to money." Boden sighed. "All of you. I want you to know we share your concerns about the neighborhood. We have always been a neighborhood house and we... We're sorry."

She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket as she watched the scene unfold before her eyes. Kensi knew that she had been down this very road before and truly didn't know where she would go after this shift was over.

"Thank you." a woman came forward and gave Boden a gentle hug. "I'm sure you've done everything you could. Stay safe, all of you." the group of neighbors slowly filed out leaving the firemen to do their jobs.

"Severide, Collins," Casey motioned for the other two lieutenants to follow him to his office. Once there he shut the door and took a seat. "He put his name on the line for us, his career."

"You got any ideas."

"Nothing we haven't talked about 100 times. I'm not ready to quit."

"None of us are." says Kensi.

"No, I hear that."

"We've got one more shift."

Everyone met in the conference room where Mouch would be giving out the new assignments. When she arrive with Kelly and Matt, Kensi opted to stay in the back of the room while other filled the chairs or stood by the walls.

"These are our new firehouse assignments starting next shift. Some of you will be floating until they find a permanent home. Others, this is it." Mouch took a deep breath but didn't say a word. He crumbled the papers in his hand and threw it on the floor. "You know what? One thing I learned during my campaign is that I should've fought till the end. I regret that I didn't put my foot of Sullivan's throat when I had the chance."

"Mouch is right. We still have 24 hours." Collins watched as Casey walked to the front of the room. "What did they say at the academy? 'One shift could change someones life?' Let's change ours."

"We rally the troops. Reach out to everyone we know." Severide agrees.

"And go after McLeod." everyone turns to face Kensi when she speaks up. "Too many men, able men, have been put out of jobs because of her closing houses. It's time we fight back."

_"Truck 81, squad 3, ambulance 61, battalion 25, vehicle accident at..."_

The teams were off to their trucks and ready, their owns worries forgotten for the time being, and raced off to the scene of the vehicle accident. Upon arriving they saw the driver of a sedan was being crushed by a car that had slipped off the back of a semi-haul. The driver of the semi gave Boden a quick run down of the situation.

""Okay people, we have seconds to work with. Go, go, go!"

"Mills! Mouch! Two chain bags to the top deck." Casey says as he and Collins take care of the tires. When the car is secured, Kensi gives the okay to Boden who tells Cruz to slowly move the semi forward.

Dawson and Shay got to work after squad took care of the door, getting the man on a backboard and to a hospital. "All right guys! Pack it up!"

Mackenzie was sitting in the common room when her phone buzzed to alert on missed call. She scanned through her call log and saw that her father had called when she was out. He left a message but she didn't listen to it and went back to her word search when Chief Boden assistant came over.

"There's a man outside asking for you, Lieutenant Collins." she said.

Kensi nods and heads to the front of the house, zipping up her jacket along the way. She hadn't yet cleared the bay area when a man with grey hair and an expensive suit turned towards her with a forced smile.

"Hello, Mackenzie." he greeted.

Kensi stopped in her tracks, frozen. "Dad?"

"You look good. What's it been? Four, five years since we last saw each other?" Preston Lee deep voice speaks through the coldness of the air as he daughter approaches him. "Nice to see you driving my latest gift."

"What are you doing here?" says Kensi, putting aside the formalities.

Preston motions to the house in front of him. "Heard that they were closing you all down. Course I had to find that out by calling your boyfriend, since you forgot to let me know. Stopped by your house but you weren't there; figured I stop by here next."

"I was on call." Kensi replies in a flat tone. "And David's not my boyfriend anymore."

"All the same, I come offering a chance for you to finally move forward with your life." Lee takes a few steps closer to Kensi. "Come work for me at the office. You could start out as a secretary, take the needed classes-"

"Stop. Just stop right there." Kensi holds up her hands and shakes her head as he talks. "I don't want to be a lawyer. You asked me this over ten years ago and my answer hasn't changed."

"Mackenzie, you know this is the end of the road for your... _career_. Female fire fighters, they don't last long."

"Aunt Kelsey did."

"And look how well that ended for her!" Preston ran his hand over his face through his silver grey hair. Buttoned his coat the over layered his suit. "I'm just trying to help you."

"Aunt Kelsey died doing a job she loved. She put her life on the life every day and died saving lives." Kensi motions back to 51. "I'm doing what I love. Just like her."

Preston scoffs. "And I'm sure this has nothing to do with that Casey kid? I know he works at this house, too."

Her mouth dropped open. "Don't bring Matt into this."

"Why not? Wasn't it his house you went over when you ran away from the babysitter? Or when my sister couldn't watch you? Wasn't he the one who said he wanted to be a fireman?"

"The answer is no, and it's not gonna change. Not today, not tomorrow. Not ever." Kensi had turned to head back inside just as Casey appeared in the bay area.

"Chief wants to see us, Kensi." He says when he spots a well dressed man staning at the end of the driveway. "Is that-"

"Yes. And he was just leaving."

**Review, please?**


	8. Not Like This Part 2

**I broke "Not Like This" into three parts because I added a lot of Kensi scenes, so here's part two.**

Chapter 8

The two walked in silence through the house as they headed towards Boden's office. Knowing that she didn't want to talk about her father, Casey asked, "How's your back?"

"Fine." she murmured. Casey knocked on the door before entering with Kensi on his heels. "You wanted to see us?"

"Yes, um, McLeod is coming over later for a walk-through to go over some final logistics and, well, I'd like to think I take the high road on this one but right now I'm not so sure."

"We'll handle it." they turned to leave when Boden spoke up again.

"It's my fault. I let this woman get under my skin and I thought I could outmuscle her. I keep playing it in back my mind. If I had just kept my mouth shut,"

"Chief," Kensi steps forward and looks Boden directly in his eyes. "The only thing you did was stand up for the firefighters in your house. You even gave me a chance when no other house would. This isn't over."

"Thank you."

"What was that about?" Casey asks as they head to the common room.

"What?"

"You and the chief? Is that true?"

Kensi sighed. "Long story short, 51 was my third stop after 17 closed. The first two houses made it their mission to prove that I couldn't handle this job. You'd this my record would prove otherwise, but no."

Matt was silent for a moment, stopping just out of sight of the assembled group in the break room. "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for. But thanks." Kensi smiled as they went to join the others. A few minutes later, Mouch came in holding a manila folder in his hand. "It's not a smoking gun, but it's something."

"What did you find out?"

Mouch opens the folder out on the table. "McLeod doesn't technically have to shut down another house, but she does receive a $200,000 dollar bonus if she gets the budget down 10%. She's doing it to make herself rich."

"Bet the Sun-Times would like to hear that." Otis says.

* * *

Mackenzie sits a steaming cup of hot chocolate on the table in front of the boy who was gathering petition signatures outside of 51. "Thought you could use this." she greets with a smile. "I'm Mackenzie. Kensi for short."

"Thanks! I'm Nathan." the boy replies and takes a sip of the drink.

"How many do you have so far?"

"Twelve. But don't worry. I'll get more." she can hear the excitement and desperation in his voice but smiles anyway.

"I'm sure you will." Kensi looks around at the empty streets and up to the overcast skies. "It's getting colder out, sure you don't want to come inside for a bit?"

"No, I'm fine. Really."

"Okay. Keep up the good work, Nathan." Kensi turns to go back inside when Nathan says, "You're a lieutenant?" he points to her jacket.

"Yeah. I am."

"That's awesome. Are you on Squad like Kelly?"

"No, I'm on Truck."

"That's so cool." Nathan sips from his cup. "Can I ask you a question?"

Mackenzie walks over to Nathan and nods. "Is it hard being a woman firefighter?"

"Well, I don't think it matters if your a man of woman, this job is tough for everyone. But if you love it as much as we do, it's well worth it."

Nathan smiles. He gets up and wraps his arms around Kensi's waist. "Thank you for the work you do."

"No problem, kid."

She walked back up the driveway and soon found her way back in the break room deleting messages from her phone. She gladly accepted the offered cup of coffee from Kelly and sat down a few seats from him.

"Hey guys?" Shay's voice broke through her straying thoughts and she looked up at the medic who was standing in the middle of the room with Dawson.

"Question for the group. And you know, this is a safe room. Just honest opinions, no one's gonna be judged."

"Oh, just spit it out." Cruz says wanting her to get to the point.

"What do you guys think about female firefighters?" asks Shay.

Kensi nearly chokes on her drink but recovers quick enough where no one notices. Her eyes fall on Casey first, then Severide and finally moved to Cruz who was the first to speak up.

"Honestly?"

"Yep."

"I'm fine with 'em." he says. "Might be from workin' with a badass like Mackenzie."

"Yeah," echos Otis. "Everyone says that Meg over at 85 is worth three of the men."

"Well, I have worked with a woman, before Mackenzie showed up at 51, and let me just say it wasn't a favorable experience." Herrmann says from his spot on the couch. He looks over the group who remained silent. "It's no secret that the lower the standards of the test to be more inclusive, isn't that right Mr-soon-to-be-union-president?"

Mouch looks up and shakes his head. "Not entirely."

"Kensi finished in the top three of her class." Casey is quick to point out though no one picks it up.

"All right, well, all I know is that this female firefighter over at 63 couldn't physically lift debris off of her partner and they both nearly died. And it was a nothing house fire. It comes down to simple physics. A woman's body is different than a man's."

Though she wanted to point out, brag even, about what she had accomplished on the job, Collins drowned her words with coffee.

"What if you need someone to get into a tighter space? Or in a place where a man's weight could send a victim to their death that you can't reach?" Dawson walks over to Herrmann. "Remember what Mackenzie did on that bus? Those people would be dead if it wasn't for her." Gabby points to Kensi.

"There's always another way to get a job done, Dawson. And yes, Collins did a great thing that day, but this house has managed a long time without a woman on the truck." Hermann said and looks over to Kensi who still hadn't spoken. "No offense,"

Dawson steps closer to Herrmann. "A female saved you life when you fell three stories, remember?"

"And I'm glad you were there as a paramedic, but I'm also glad that you didn't fall through the floor with me. They'd have dug both our bodies out. You said this was a safe room? Why is she biting my head off?"

"Because you have your head stuck up your-" Dawson spot short and takes a deep breath. "You know what? I'm gonna chalk this up to the high tensions of the day." the she leaves and Casey follows. Mackenzie finishes off her coffee and leaves the cup in the sink.

* * *

"Mackenzie!"

"Huh, what?" Kensi snaps her head up from the blurring words of a book and looked over to Severide. "Yeah."

"You okay?" he asks. "You've been on that page for the last five minutes."

She closes the book, not really interested in it anymore. "Yeah, just got a lot on my plate."

"Don't let Herrmann's words get to you. Everybody's stressed."

"No, it's not that." she sighs. She wants to tell someone about her father and his wanting her to come work for him, but she doesn't really know anyone enough other than Casey. They probably wouldn't understand.

"Any of you Jeff Clarke?" Kensi looks up to see Detective Dawson standing a few feet away.

"That's me." Clarke says from the back of the room.

"Mind if I talk to you for a minute? Severide and Collins, you too." the three follow Dawson until they were out of ear shot of the others. Kensi shoved her hands in her pockets as she stood between Kelly and Jeff.

"I have to ask if you saw a Brian Hayes last night at Molly's."

"I did." Jeff replies.

"What's up?"

"His friends said that you threatened him and wanted to kill him. And that she broke his nose."

Kensi held the smile that wanted to come out. "He was coming onto me. I acted."

"It was an argument." says Clarke.

"Either of you see him since?"

Kensi and Clarke replied that they hadn't, instead both had went home after Molly's and had been in 51 all day. "Why?"

"He's dead."

**Review?**


	9. Not Like This Part 3

**Late update = Extra long. Not Like This Part 3. Enjoy!**

Chapter 9

Collins stood off to the side as Chief Boden talked to Clarke about the situation. "You and your wife are a top priority, Jeff. So whatever you need."

Clarke paused. "I didn't do it, Chief."

"Doesn't need to be said. But I appreciate it."

There was a knock on the door and Boden's assistant stepped in. "Chief, Ms. McLeod is here."

Boden took a deep breath. "Come on." he says and the three lieutenants follow without a word. They walked over to where Gail was standing.

"Really, Chief, there is something to be said for a gracious exit. State is not happy with you." she says with a shake of her head. Kensi flashes back to when this same woman walked into 17 on the final day and how she her the Chief of 17 were the last members to leave the house.

"What are you talking about?"

Gail scoffs. "Okay, fine. Let's play it your way. Your little stunt notwithstanding, as soon as this shift is over inspectors will be here to make sure that all of your employees exit timely." She eyes Mackenzie longer than she does either Severide and Casey having recognized her from the closer of 17. "Not a jacket, not a pen, not a souvenir is to leave this house. Is that understood?"

"Tell me something. Was closing firehouses a dream of yours when you were a kid?" Collins asks.

Gail smirked. "Oh, yes it was at the top of my bucket list."

"Along with $200,000 dollars?" says Casey.

Mcleod narrowed her eyes, slightly taken aback at Matt's question. "Excuse me?" Out of the corner of her eye, Mackenzie noticed the small smile working its way across her friends face.

After McLeod left, Otis came around the corner of the hall. "Hey guys, you gotta come see this." he says. Chief Boden takes the lead and the others follow, all wondering what was going on.

As they made their way to the bay area, the sound of chants ringing loud reached their ears. "Save 51! Save 51!" Engine horns honked and news crews lined the streets as they met the growing crowd in the driveway.

"Chief!" Boden turned to face his assistant who came rushing towards him. "Your presence is being requested, and yours too, Ms. McLeod."

When Boden left, the others went and greeted the neighbors with smiles and 'thank yous', wanting them to know how much this meant to them all.

Dawson pulled Collins aside after a few minutes. She told her about her acceptance into the fire academy and how Casey wanted her to talk to other female firefighters. Namely Mackenzie. "I feel like this is what I want; it feels right to me. But at the same time, I'm not sure."

"My aunt was a firefighter. I remember visiting her house and hanging out with her team. My dad was always on business trips so more times than not I stayed with her." Kensi says. "She's the main reason I became a firefighter. I could tell you the long, sad story about her career ups and downs but at the end of the day, if it feels right, go for it. If you know this is what you want, whats stopping you?"

* * *

"Ding freakin' dong the witch is dead!" Herrmann says as the whole room breaks out in cheers. Mills gave a short speech before Shay said that Dawson had some news of her own. Gabby looked at Kensi who smiled.

"Um, today I found out that I was officially accepted to the fire academy to become a firefighter." Dawson looked at Casey as the room remained quite.

"You'll make a great firefighter, Dawson." says Mouch.

"Yeah!"

"Congrats!"

The rest cheer on as Dawson asks Collins and Casey to join her in the hallway. Once there, Matt wastes no time in asking, "What happened to taking some time to think about it?"

"What? You don't support me on this?"

"No, no. I do. I just thought, as I suggested, that you would talk to some other people and consider all of your options."

"I talked with Mackenzie." Casey looks at Collins, then back to Gabby who spoke up again. "This is happening."

"I can see that."

_"Truck 81, squad 3, ambulance 61, battlion 25. Apartment fire at..." _the alarm sounds overhead and Dawson sighs as she leaves.

"I really thought you'd be more supportive, Matt." Kensi says as she puts on her gear. "This isn't easy for her." she hops in the truck and Cruz speeds off towards the call.

Night had long fallen by the time they arrived, flames were licking from all four stories. "Cruz, Herrmann, Mills, Collins, with me. Primary search on the top floor." says Casey as he get out of the truck.

"There were 16 apartments. Mouch, check the rear. Otis, stand by." Kensi says then turns to Severide. "We're starting on the top floor."

"We're right below you. 51, cover us. Two lines at the front door."

Casey takes the lead with Kensi, Cruz, Herrmann, and Mills right behind him. _"How's it lookin' in there?"_ comes Boden's voice over the radio.

"It's rollin', Chief!"

They split off to check the apartments and Kensi heads a few doors down. It's locked so she turns and kicks it open easily with her foot. "Fire department! Call out!" she yells as she searches the rooms swiftly and carefully. She comes to a bedroom where she finds two people huddled together in a closet. "Come on, I got you! Stay close!"

She leads them back the way she came when a small explosions sounds near them and the rooms shakes. She just passes the engulfed kitchen when one collapses. The smoke was thick and she realized that they wouldn't make it down four flights of stairs. "Smokes thick in here! I need a ladder on the fourth floor, south window!"

Kensi turns and leads the still conscious man to the window, and broke then cleared the glass before going back for the woman. Once there, a man from engine appeared and led both of them out where the medics were waiting.

"These three rooms are cleared!" she says when she meets up with Casey and Herrmann.

"Okay, you two stay with me!" Matt leads them towards the rooms that were further away.

_"Truck 81, I need an update."_ Boden calls over the radio.

"Chief, we're halfway through the fourth floor. Still more to search."

_"Casey! You have one minute! I mean it!"_

"Couple more rooms, Chief!" Casey motions for Collins and Herrmann to follow him as they went to check the last of the rooms. Herrmann had just cleared one room when word came to evacuate the building. Kneeling down near the stairs, the three confirmed and headed that way.

"My baby! Please help!" comes a cry from behind them. Casey turns and spots a woman crawling towards them. "Please help my baby!"

"Collins! Herrmann!" he leads them back up.

"My baby! She's- she's in her crib in the back room! Please!" she cries franticly.

"You two get her out of here! I'll get the baby!" says Casey.

"No, you go, I'll get the baby!" Herrmann insists.

"Forget it! You have a family! I'll go! That's an order!" Casey says when Kensi grabs his arm.

"You're my family! You aren't going alone!" without waiting for a reply, Kensi leads the way to the back bedroom. Taking turns with their axes, they got the door open but Casey stopped Kensi before she could go inside. "Be my eyes!" he says and she nods, watching as he disappears into the room.

Seconds seem like hours as Kensi watches the doorway vanish in a sea of flames. "Casey! It's not gonna hold out much longer!" she yells as the frame begins to crumble. Matt comes running into the hallway, and cries of a baby reach her ears. The hall creaks as the flames move about and time was not on their side.

"Stay on me!" Collins says.

"Go!" and Mackenzie leads them back down the hall. The flames jumped out at them as they made their way to the exit. They had just reached the final flight of stairs when Boden said _"Casey! Collins, I need and update!"_

"Almost there!"

The sight before them wasn't good; they couldn't see the stairs beneath the growing flames. Backing up two steps to gain momentum, Kensi heads for their only means of escape with Casey and the baby right behind her.

The exit was in their sight. Kensi had to stop short of it when the ceiling suddenly came down in front of them. Before she knew what happened she felt herself being pushed to the side, and she came in contact with a pile of debris. The area turned black with smoke as she pulled herself to her feet.

"Casey!" she called out. Kensi shook her head slightly when a PASS begin to screech. "Mayday! Mayday! Casey's down!" she says as she runs over to where a ceiling beam had pinned Casey and the baby, who thankfully was still crying.

_"Mayday! Help Casey!" _says Boden who leads a team back inside.

"Matt, talk to me!" Kensi said as she reaches her friend who wasn't moving. She could barely make out the sound of his moan.

"Collins! Call out!"

"Over here!"

"Cruz, get her out of here!" Boden yells. Kensi struggles against Joe's grip as he all but drags her out to the front lawn. Once there, she falls on to her hands and knees in the grass and quickly removes her SCBA and jacket just as a figure stumbles a few feet away.

She pushes a medic away as she watches Casey allow Dawson to take the baby girl from his arms right before he collapses to the ground.

"Matt!" she cries out as she runs over to his side. She begins to remove his gear as a few more hands chip in. When he was clear, they lifted him up and placed him on a waiting gurney before racing over to a waiting ambo.

It went without saying as Kensi climbed into the bus first before Casey was loaded in. Severide and Dawson followed and the ambulance took off for the hospital.

"Damnit Matt! Come on! Not like this!" Gabby yells as she got to work while Kelly and Mackenzie held down Casey's seizing body. Collins held Matt's arms tightly, "You're not alone, Matt." she whispered. "Never alone."

The ambulance jerked to a halt and the doors swung open, doctors and nurses ready as they pulled the gurney out and raced inside. Kensi and Severide followed as far as they could go, helpless as Casey disappeared behind a set of doors.

Suddenly the room began to sway and Collins shook her head, her hand going to her side absentmindedly. "Are you okay?" she hears a voice say. She looks down at her hand, puzzled at why it was stained red. Her final thought was about Casey right before everything went black.

* * *

A doctor came into view of the firefighters with an unreadable look on her face. "He has an epidural hematoma and is in emergency surgery. But that's all I can say. You just have to be patient. It might be awhile."

Dawson headed down the hall but the doctor refrained from following her, instead stayed to talk about Collins. "After Lieutenant Collins passed out, it was discovered that she suffered a ruptured appendix caused by a rebar that entered her side. It was deep and she has lost a lot of blood. Along with a fractured left wrist, they rushed her into the OR." she waits a few seconds before continuing. "She's been in surgery for the past hour. We won't know any more for a while."

**Review?**


	10. Shoved in My Face Part 1

**I've heard unconfirmed reports that Severide and Lindsey from CPD are gonna be a thing. So, since six weeks have passed since the accident, Kensi is now dating Jay. :)**

Chapter 10

_She couldn't see. Couldn't breathe as she made her way through the burning building. She followed the sound of a baby crying and PASS alarm but was unable to see through the black smoke. The radio crackled with static and she never felt more alone._

_Time was running out as the walls crumbled around her, the floor beneath her feet shifting with each step she took. Where were they? She should have reached them by now. Why won't he answer?_

_Before she knew what happened, Mackenzie was standing on the front lawn as she watched the building implode. She saw her team, squad, the chief with sullen looks on their faces before walking away._

_"You killed him."_

_"This is your fault."_

_"The Truck is no place for a woman."_

_"Casey's dead because of you."_

She shot up in bed, breathing heavily as her mind replied the call in every way possible. Except it was all wrong. The sheets were wrapped around her bare body as she swung her feet over the edge of the bed.

"Another nightmare?" a voice asked behind her. Kensi nodded and felt a warm kiss on her shoulder. "That's the second one in the last three nights."

"It was exactly the same, too. It was my fault."

Jay Halstead brought his hands around Mackenzie's waist and slowly fingered the most recent scar on her right side. Six weeks had passed since her surgery and, four since she met Jay and today she was finally returning to work. "It was only a dream, Kensi. Casey's fine. You saw him yesterday and he's returning to work today, just like you are."

"I keep telling myself that, but it doesn't seem to work." Collins got out of bed and pulled some clothes from her drawer. "There's coffee in the cabinets, if you want. I'll be down later."

Jay smiles as he sits up in bed. "Hey, Mackenzie?" she stops in front of the bathroom. "Things will return to normal."

"Yeah. I know."

* * *

"Yeah! Yeah, I called it! Did I not call it?" Herrmann says excitedly as Casey and Dawson stand among their peers, the news of their relationship now in the open.

"No." says Otis.

"Oh, I told Cindy. But I called it. I knew you two were meant for each other."

"Me too. Randy McHolland, I knew you two were gonna be turtle doves one day."

Casey smiles and waves everyone off. "It all worked out. Thanks guys."

Dawson pulled Severide over for a few seconds before going to talk to Mills. Kelly walks Collins inside, wanting to talk since he was teaching a class at the fire academy starting tomorrow. "So have you given any thought about dropping by the academy? The Chief thinks it'd be good if you talked to the candidates."

Mackenzie shrugs. "Can't say that that's crossed my mind since you asked me. But I will give it some thought." she excused herself and headed for the lockers where she forgot her phone when she saw Casey standing in front of his locker.

She watched as she twisted the combination on his lock, he paused in between as he tried to get it open. Seconds passed when Kensi heard footsteps come up behind her.

"Is Lieutenant Casey in there?" Cruz asked her.

"Yeah, why?"

"Boden wants everybody in the briefing room."

"Okay, I'm headed that way. I'll tell him." Kensi waits for Joe to leave then walks into the locker room. "Hey, Matt?"

"Yeah?"

She pauses when she looks him in his eyes, wanting to ask how he was doing. "Boden wants everyone in the briefing room."

"Okay. I'm just gonna change out. Then I'll be right there."

A few minutes passed as everyone gathered in the briefing room. Boden walks in with a woman and gets right down to the news. "Okay. I have just heard from CPD. Clarke is out on bond and he'll remain on suspension until further notice."

"That'd be crazy if he did it."

"If? The rounds came from his gun."

"The bullets came from a type of gun Clarke owns. Get your facts straight." Severide says.

"Oh, I stand corrected."

Chief Boden steps in. "Enough. If Clarke comes to this house for any reason, he is innocent until proven guilty. He's like a brother."

"He's not gonna come by. I already talked to him." Mills confirms. "He doesn't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable."

"Then moving on. I'd like you all to give a nice warm welcome to our new paramedic in charge Ms. Allison Rafferty."

"Hey guys." Allison says with a wave to the group. Kensi turns around in her chair to get a better look at the new PIC. "I'm looking forward to working with you all."

"Hey, kid, tell us about yourself."

Rafferty had just started when the alarm sounded. _"Truck 81, squad 3, ambulance 61, battalion 25. Single car accident at..."_

Kensi is up and heading towards her gear when she spots Casey giving her a sly smile. "I'm not sure who's more anxious; you or me."

"Six weeks can feel like a long time." she laughs as she get into the truck. Soon they arrived to the scene of the accident, Kensi putting her helmet on and following Boden who was the first to arrive.

"Got a blown-out tire on the front passenger side. Lt's get some cribbing underneath and stabilize this car." he orders.

Shay and Rafferty do a quick check before the former turns to Collins. "Okay, listen. He got real lucky. The rebar probably just missed his carotid so you have to be super careful. I mean one millimeter in the wrong direction, okay?"

"This only way he's coming out is if we cut that rebar on either side of him." Collins states to Casey and Severide.

"You stabilize, I cut?"

"Got it." Mackenzie made her way to the passenger side of the car and climbed in. "What's you name?"

"Jeremy."

"Jeremy, I'm Mackenzie. But some people think that's a mouthful, so Kensi works. Let's get you outta here." she moves in closer until she has the rebar in her hand, "Okay, ready!"

Severide slowly moved the shears towards the rebar but stopped when Jeremy began screaming, the pain too much for him to handle. "Okay, okay. We're stopping. We'll find another way." Kensi backs out of the car. "Shears are torqueing the rebar. It'll go right through his carotid."

"We're gonna need something else to cut it."

"Saws outta the question. Vibrations could hit that artery." says Severide.

"What about the torch?" Mills questions.

"We would be taking a chance with the heat. What do you think, Chief?"

"Go."

Rafferty came over to Casey. "He's heart rate is elevated. You gotta keep him calm or he'll go into v-tach."

"Right." Casey enters the car, and begins talking to Jeremy. "Okay, Jeremy, take it easy. It's gonna be alright. We're gonna get you out."

"I'm gonna die." Jeremy says in between screams. "I'm gonna die."

"No, you're not. Okay?" Mackenzie watches Casey, listening as he worked to keep Jeremy awake. "I was in your exact same spot six weeks ago. One breathe at a time."

"I'm gonna die."

"Jeremy, I bet you a six pack if you make it through this. And it'll be the best beer you tasted 'cause you'll be so glad you're alive while drinking it."

"Is that your girlfriend? She gonna be there?" Casey follows Jeremy's eyes and smiles to himself as he faces Jeremy. "Even better. She's practically my sister. She'll be there, too."

Jeremy muffles a scream. "I can't."

"Yes you can. You gotta want to live. You can do this."

"Okay. Okay."

"All right! Let's get him out!" Sever says after a few more seconds. They team carefully works to get Jeremy on a stretcher and rolled him to the ambulance.

Collins joined Casey behind the car, playfully punching him. "You haven't lost a step."

"Welcome back, lieutenants." says Herrmann in passing.

Back at the station, Mackenzie was finishing up paperwork when Severide requested her presence. She met him in the break room where Casey was all ready and waiting with plans spread out on the table. "What's up?" she asks as she eyes the plans.

Matt fills her in on the few details, when Kelly says, "How long is it gonna take?"

"If everyone chips in, three weeks."

"Now, I don't have a lot of construction experience." Severide notes.

"Can you swing a hammer?"

"I get it-this is your chance to yell at me on a job site." Kelly shakes his head in amusement.

Casey laughs. "Yeah, that's true. I won't deny that. I might even let Kensi take the lead on it."

Collins raises an eyebrow. "You've never let me take lead on anything if you still had a say so."

"Think it's about time for that to change." Casey states with a smile before turning back to the table. "And in the process, we get to make this. All we need is a space to work."

"I got a buddy over at the boatyard who probably has a dry dock that'll work."

"Then we're off and running." Collins takes her leave when her phone rings while Casey gathers the papers. She recognizes the number and answers after a couple of rings. When she was finished, Severide came into view.

"Everything good?"

"Yeah, that was the dealership. I can pick the car up after shift today."

"Need a lift?"

"No, Casey said he could take me." Kensi smiles. "Thanks though." A few hours later at the end of shift found Mackenzie walking to the lockers to change out. When she arrived, she noticed Matt standing in front of his locker with a pair of cutters. She watched as he cut the lock then replaced it with a new on before shoving the cutters back deeply in to his bag.

"Matt?"

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	11. Shoved in My Face Part 2

**Enjoy part two of "Shoved in My Face".**

Chapter 11

She sat there, unmoving staring out the window as she attempted to make sense of what she had saw that day. The images of the city flew by in a blur while she thought back. It was little, maybe even pointless but the fact remained and she needed to know. "Were you going to tell me?"

Casey glanced over to Kensi who was sitting in the passenger seat of his truck as he took her to the car dealership before putting his eyes back on the road. "There's nothing to tell."

"Matt, please don't lie to me. Not now." the silence grew thick as the minutes passed and neither spoke. Finally, Mackenzie said, "I've had dreams, nightmares really, about that night. It's always the same, not a single detail changes. You died and it was my fault. And you'd think that six weeks later things would be better but they're not. We're not."

Matt pulled to a halt in front of the dealership and took a deep breath before turning to his friend. "Kensi, I'm fine. The doctors gave me a clean bill of health."

"But what if they missed something? What if-"

"Hey, hey, listen." Casey placed his hand on Mackenzie's arms to get her to stop talking. "You don't need to worry about me, okay?"

"You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?"

"You know I would." he replied after a moment.

Mackenzie grabbed her bag. She leaned over and gave Matt a hug before exiting his truck. "Thanks for the ride, Matt. I'll see you later." she was gone before he could reply.

It didn't take long someone to get the needed paperwork out since it was near closing. Kensi waited while the man pointed out where she needed to sign. "So what made you trade a new Camaro for an Accord?" the man asked to make conversation.

Kensi paused as while she was signing the last few papers and thought back to how she decided that she didn't want her fathers gifts since it was his way of trying to buy her into his law firm. "It wasn't really my style."

After she had been gotten into her new car, Collins drove to Jay's apartment. It was late and she really wanted to sleep. But there was something she needed to ask the detective first. She knew it was unlocked since she told him she was headed his way so she let herself in.

"Hey," Jay says as he leans in for a kiss. "How was your shift?"

"It was...fine." She told him about they're call and the project she'd be working on with a few of the others. "Can I ask you a question?" Mackenzie tossed her bag off to the side and went to the bathroom.

Jay sat one cup of tea on a table and kept the other in his hand. "You know I can't talk about Clarke's case."

"I just want-need to know. He's my friend."

Jay sighed. He moved closer to Kensi and pulled her into a warm embrace. "I'm sorry. I can't."

"Okay. I understand." Kensi returns the hug and plants a kiss on Jay's lips. The days events were weighing down on her so she changed and climbed in to bed. She was fast asleep as soon as her head rested against the pillow.

* * *

Collins headed towards the bay area to welcome the candidates that next shift. She was eager to see how Dawson was faring. "Hey Collins!" she heard Casey call her.

"Yeah?"

"Mills here says you helped him while he was the relief lieutenant. I thought you were out for six weeks."

"I was. After my doctor cleared me I spent a couple days around the house so I wouldn't go stir crazy. I helped him that last week and a half; he did really well. I was impressed." she says.

Casey turned back to Mills. "I read the reports and I've got nothing but praise for you."

Mills just smiled back as Matt took his leave to join the others who had gathered to welcome the candidates.

"You gonna say a few words or not?" Severide whispers in Collins' ear.

"Not." she meets Kelly's eyes and smiles back. "They don't need any words of wisdom from me. I'm sure they're instructor has got everything covered."

They had finished welcoming the candidates and showed them around the house when Boden came into the break room where everyone was talking. "Okay everybody I have an announcement to make."

_"Engine 51, truck 81, squad 3, ambulance 61..."_

They rushed to their gear and were off towards the location within minutes. Once there, Casey turned to Collins and said, "You take point on this one."

Nodding, Kensi motioned for Severide and Casey to follow her to check things out. "Fire department." she says as she knocks on the door. A couple of seconds pass before a woman opens it.

"You got here fast. I tried to call it off, it's a false alarm. We have some guys working the electrical system."

"Ma'am, we're gonna need to have a look around." Kensi walks into the office where a few people were sitting in a waiting area. She tried a door and waited for the woman to unlock it with her card. Severide stayed behind to keep an eye on things while Casey and Collins went to the back.

"They just need to have a look around." she says to the workmen.

Casey greets the men and moves over to a wall, feeling it with his hand. "Collins,"

Kensi uses the TIC to locate where the fire was. "Fires in the wall."

Matt moves over to where a sheet was hanging, pulling it down to reveal what was behind it. When he and Kensi got a good look and the welding marks on the vault door they knew right away that they had walked into the middle of a robbery.

They heard a woman whimper behind them and when the two face where the sound came from they saw that a gun was being pointed to her head. "Just let them take what they want." she manages to say just as the fire behind them breaks through the wall.

"Get on the ground! Now!" Collins and Casey did as they were told, the fire now climbing up the walls around them faster. The smoke was getting thicker by the second.

"Get that thing open, dammit! Hurry!" the gunman yelled to his buddy who was working on welding the vault open.

"Guys, you don't have time to get that safe open." Kensi says. "The smokes gonna overwhelm us in a matter of seconds. We need to get out of here."

"Shut up!" the gunman says. "And tell your men outside that if they try to come in her this chicks dead."

Kensi made a move to her walkie when the gunman waved his weapon around. "No, no baby. I want him to do it."

"All companies we have a fire but do not attempt entry. We have a hostage situation in here." Casey says into his walkie.

The man working the vault took off his mask and man a dash for the door. "It's all yours!" he yells coughing.

"Hey! Hey!

"They're leaving without you buddy." Kensi tells the man in an effort to get him to drop his gun. Casey and Collins get to their feet as the fire was now going for other objects besides the walls.

"Back off!"

"Let her go!" Casey yells back.

"I'm not messin' around here."

"You think I am? Let her go!" Matt makes a move forward and the gunman reacts quickly, pointing his gun and firing a shot. Casey ducks and moves the mans arm out of the way, punching him in his jaw.

Collins grabs the woman and shields her from harms way. They were just exiting the room when Kensi realized that Matt wasn't behind them. She went back and saw that he was still punching the man who was clearly unconscious on the ground.

"Casey!" she yells over the roar of the flames. She grabs Matt from behind, surprising him as she caught an elbow to her face. Not letting the blow stop her she pulled on her friend harder until she had him standing up with his arms pinned to his side. "Matt! It's me! It's Kensi!"

Casey shrugs her grip off. "Get her outta here!"

It only took seconds to get from the back room to the cold fresh air outside but it felt like hours. Kensi led the woman over to a pair of waiting paramedics, brushing them off when they wanted to take a look at the cut on her left cheek.

"Hey, Collins!" Mills questions in passing. "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine."

"What happened?" Kensi saw Matt come up beside her before he went to speak with a CPD officer. "The guy got in a lucky punch." she says in between a few coughs to clear the smoke out of her lungs.

Snow was beginning to fall as they finished up a few things. Collins had tossed her helmet into 81 when she heard someone come up behind her. "I'm sorry." Matt says right away.

"You don't need to apologize." the ride back to the house was one in silence until the arrived back at the house. Boden stopped Casey in the bay area. "Just heard about the call. How that hostage situation went down."

Matt looked at Kensi who was sporting a bandage over her wound before turning back to the chief. "Yeah, uh, chief,"

"Damn fine work you and Collins." after they had both uttered a thanks Boden spoke up to the rest of the group. "And now I can finally make that announcement. The city had approved an extra spot on squad 3 and that spot will be filled by our own Peter Mills. If you still want it."

The group broke out into many congratulations. "Yeah, I want it, I just don't understand. Why now?" Mills questions.

"You have lieutenant Casey to thank for that. He pushed for you on this. He wrote a great commendation."

Later that night found Casey and Collins walking the halls of the hospital. "Visiting hours are over." a nurse says when she sees them headed for a room.

"We just need five minutes." they hold up their badges and she frowns.

"Okay. Five minutes."

"Thank you."

Inside the room they round Jeremy resting. He welcomed them with a big smile as they approached his bedside. "Hey Jeremy."

"I forgot your names." he says.

"Matt and Mackenzie."

Jeremy looks at Collins. "Kensi...because some people think it's a mouthful."

"That's right."

"You remember the bet we made?"

"I do."

Casey opens a bottle of beet and pours a small bit into an empty cup. Kensi grabs another bottle and does the same.

"You got any family in town?"

"No. My sister is coming tomorrow from Scottsdale" he accepts the beer from Matt and eyes it. "Is this gonna mix with the painkillers I'm on?" he questions, making Kensi laugh at the humor that's clear in his voice.

"Can't hurt."

Jeremy looks up at the two firemen. "I'm so glad to be alive."

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	12. Out With a Bang Part 1

**I've had a rough week. Only one chapter for "Out With a Bang"**

Chapter 12

"Hey, Chief."

"I see you haven't submitted the paperwork for the Quincy fire yet." Chief Boden says when Casey walked through his office door with Collins.

"Yeah. I'm sorry about that." says Matt. "I'll get on it."

Boden looked at his two truck lieutenants with wondering eyes. "You two doing okay? Everything good? You feel good?" he asked.

Mackenzie pulls at her jacket. "Yeah. Fine, Chief."

"I feel fine. Just went to the doctor and he said everything checked out, so yeah."

"Exactly what I want to hear." Boden pulls out his glasses an looks down at the work on his desk, then says, "Get that report done and lets put it behind us."

"Will do. Thanks, Chief."

They walked to the break room together to grab breakfast. Kensi was checking messages on her phone when Casey, asked, "You've already turned in your report?"

"Yeah, I did a few days after I was released from the hospital. I'm kinda surprised you hadn't." Collins poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down with Shay and Rafferty and Otis, grabbing a section of the days paper.

"Hey did you pick up lumber at the salvage place?" Severide asks Casey when he came into the room.

"I did, but there's too much to fit in my truck." he replies. "We need a transport."

"Does any of you guys have a contact o a trucking company who can hail lumber for the cheap, or for free?" Kelly asked the group.

Mouch raises his hand. "I have a question. Even though he's no longer the candidate, Mills can still do the cooking right?"

Peter looked up from his paper. "Oh, no, no, no, no. Forget it. I all ready tossed my pots and pans."

"Okay. Starting next week, we'll draw straws." Collins says. "Kelly, think you can call Katie and get her to cook something for us today?"

"Yeah, sure."

Mackenzie's phone rang a few minutes later and she recognized the number as her father's office line. She excused herself to take the call. "Hello?"

"Mackenzie Collins?" a woman's voice asked.

"Yes."

"My name is Laura Nelson, I'm a secretary at your father's office. I regret to inform you that he suffered a heart attack this morning and is in the hospital." she says.

The alarm sounds over head. _"Truck 81, squad 3, ambulance 61..."_

"I, uh, I have to go. Thank you for calling." Kensi hangs up and runs to the bay area. She stumbles slightly as she gets dressed. She didn't think anyone noticed until Casey placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, you okay?"

She wanted to tell him that the more people asked her if she way okay, the more she wanted to punch them in the face. "Fine." she replied and got into the truck, not even wanting to tell him about her father. She didn't even know how to feel about that news.

They arrived on scene to an apartment complex. The area was smokey as they got out of the trucks, waiting for Boden to give the order. "Looks like we've got a small fire on one. 51 get me a line in there. Truck, squad give me a primary search on both floors."

"Cruz, raise the arial. Otis and Mouch, check the basement. Herrmann and Casey, with me." Kensi heads into the building first, putting her mask and helmet on as she ascended the stairs. She had a conversation with Boden and Casey and they both agreed that it was a good idea to let her take the lead some of the calls.

"Fire department! Everybody out!" she knocks on a door. A few seconds pass before a man exits with his nose tucked in to his shirt.

"Sir, we need you to head on outside." Casey tells man who appeared in a door way to her left.

"This is my home. I can't leave my belongings." Collins turns just in time to see Matt pull the man from his home and shove him in the way to the exit. "Get out of here before you get hurt!"

Collins gave Casey a look of concern before heading to check the rest of the floor. They were removing a victim from a room when they felt the floor shake.

"Propane heater exploded. One room fire. 51 get a line on it." Casey says when Boden requested a status on the situation.

* * *

Mackenzie walked out of 51 with her bag over her shoulder as she headed for her car. Jay had call and said that he would grab dinner for them at his place that night once he was finished at the station. She told him that she had a stop to make first.

"Hey, Matt!" she callout as she saw Casey heading towards his truck. "Got a sec?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Um, I won't be able to come to the dock later. My father's in the hospital." she says.

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know. He's had heart trouble in the past, but this was different. They want me to be prepared for the worse."

"Well, if you need anything, just let me know. I'm here for you." Casey pulls her into a hug. "You gonna be all right?"

"You would think that since we've never been real close-" she starts but can't bring herself to finish. "But he's my father. He's the only family I have left and I don't know if I can-"

"Hey, easy. Take a breath. Look, I'll tell Dawson that something came up and come with you to the hospital."

"No, no don't do that. You've got a nice thing going with her, I don't want to be the one to mess it up." Kensi wipes her face with her hand. "Thank you though."

"You sure? I can be there if you don't want to be alone."

"Positive. And I have a date tonight anyway. I'll be fine." Casey opens the car door for Collins and shuts it after she gets in.

"Call me later?"

"Yeah. Bye." she drove to the hospital with the radio playing softly in the background. After twenty minutes she found herself walking down the halls to her father's room, a small bouquet of flowers in her hand.

She knocked on the door before entering, not sure if he'd be awake of not. "What took so long?"

"I was at work with they called me." she places the flowers with a growing pile of get well cards and gifts. "How are you feeling?"

"About as well as expected after a heart attack." Lee replied. "Seems the rolls are reversed this time around."

Kensi sighed at the memory of the hospital cling about the Quincy accident. Before she was assigned to 51, a friend back at 17 was listed as her emergency contact but she had to change that when he moved at the end of the year. "It's only been a couple of months."

Preston shifted in his bed and reached for a cup of water that sat nearby. "How's Matthew?" he asked without concern in his voice.

Kensi's head snapped up. She narrowed her eyes at her father. "What do you care?"

"Mackenzie, let's not do this now. I just want to know how the boy is doing."

"For once you're right. I have plans so I'll just be on my way." the drive to Jay's apartment was a short one as Kensi soon found herself sitting on Halstead's couch as he fixed dinner. They made idle talk before both deciding to call it a night.

Mackenzie stood in the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body. After she dried off she combed through her wet hair and got dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt.

Collins fingered an orange container in her hand that she hadn't opened since she got it filled out a few weeks ago. She hadn't been sleeping well and knew that not getting enough rest would effect her job and she didn't want that. She couldn't afford that.

Without thinking it over, Kensi swallowed the white pills with a glass of water.

"Everything okay?" Jay asked from the bed.

"Yeah." She smiles. "Everything is fine."

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	13. Tonight's The Night Part 1

**My apologies for not posting last week. So here's an extra long chapter because I decided it was better as one than if I split it into two parts.**

Chapter 13

"Okay. I'll get on it. Thank you."

It was a slow shift. Everyone in 51 knew this and was doing their best to keep the idleness at bay. Mackenzie had just gotten off of her phone when Gabby walked in.

"Oh my god. What is that smell?" she asked.

"Impending gastric distress." Mouch says from his seat on the couch.

Collins put her book down and points to the kitchen. "Cruz is cooking. And all of the sudden I feel the need to go on a diet."

"Ha ha. Very funny."

"No way. Cruz is cooking? Since when?"

Herrmann says, "Since Mills jumped to squad and we haven't gotten a replacement candidate. We all drew straws."

"And we all lost." Otis mumbles.

Wanting to stretch her legs for a bit, Kensi leaves the break room and heads for the back. She hadn't gotten very far before the alarm overhead sounded, alerting them of their next call. _"Truck 81, squad 3, ambulance 61, battalion 25. Single car accident at..."_

It didn't take long for the teams to get in their gear and arrive at the scene. Once there, they saw that a crowd had gathered around the vehicle. It had been snowing for a while now and the streets were covered in the white flakes. The dropping tempters did not help.

"There's a guy in there!"

"Every body get back! Back!" Kensi works her way over to the car with Casey, Severide and Boden to assess the damage.

"That pole could come down any second. Everybody working underneath watch out." Chief Boden says. They could hear the pole creaking above them and sparks of electricity jumped down to the ground.

"Otis, get that crowd back!"

"Mills grab the jaws!" Severide says. Suddenly the sparks begin to rain down harder and the creaking becomes louder. "Everyone get clear!" yells the chief just before the telephone pole collapses on to the car. The house lights around them flickered right before everything went dark.

Kensi looked around at the darkness. Except for the red and blue light on the engines and the yellow and orange of the fire as it was put out, you couldn't see.

"The grids out, chief." she says when she spots Boden off to the side. Casey joins them as the others finish up.

"Yeah. And this weather, people without power are people without heat."

Matt motions to the crowd. "Not to mention the wolves come out with the lights go off."

"Right. You two, stick with me." Boden walks over to the people who were murmuring among themselves, huddled together as snow continued to fall.

"Can I have your attention, please?" the people stopped to look at what was going on. "At the point we have no way of knowing how long it will take to get your power back on. So if any of you need a safe place to stay, your welcome to Firehouse 51. We have our own generator and we can provide hot food, a warm place to stay and safety. Thank you."

* * *

Mackenzie was walking the halls of 51 when she ran into Severide. He had a look on his face that she couldn't place and asked what was wrong.

"There's something I need to tell you." he quickly fills Collins in on what Casey told him at the docks about his memory loss. "I know you two are close and that it's not really my place to tell you but I'm starting to get worried. He didn't even remember where he put his tool box."

Kensi sighs, wondering why Matt wouldn't tell her himself. "Where is he now?"

"To check the generators."

"Okay, um, thanks for telling me, Severide." and Kensi quickly excuses herself to find someplace to help. She found herself in the kitchen where people were waiting for Cruz to fix dinner. Kelly walked by a few minutes later to greet Katie who ha brought some extra food.

She was joking with a few of the kids when a fight broke out to her left. She jumped up and saw a man beating another, not stopping. When Kelly managed to separate the two, Kensi grabbed the man who was beaten and pulled him back, keeping him behind her.

She saw from behind Severide that the man who attacked the other was now holding a knife and it was pointed at Kelly who was standing protectively in front of her and the victim. "Put the knife down, buddy."

"No, no, no, you stay out of this! Just stay the hell out of this!" the man yells back as he eyes behind Severide. "This kid's drunk brother put my niece in a come!"

"Hey, listen. Listen, put the knife down and get the hell out of here."

The man didn't listen and instead charged with the knife. Kensi reacted and pulled the man back with her as Kelly punched the man and pinned him to the counter. Chief Boden went over to aid in throwing the man out of the house.

"Let's get you cleaned up." Kensi leads the man to one of the restrooms, listening to Chief Boden as he calmed the people down after what the just saw.

"Collins, my office." she heard Boden call out when she was done. She followed him to his office where Severide and Casey were waiting with a woman she recognized as Jay's partner at 21.

"It's a madhouse out there. We're calling in every off duty officer we've got. The looting two blocks from here is out of control." Lindsey tells them.

Boden says, "We understand."

"That's not why I stopped by. We've got an informant inside the Keeler family. A bunch of bad-egg bruisers that cause mayhem on the South side." Erin holds out a picture for the four of them to see. "Apparently one of your guys went toe-to-toe with Vince Keeler about an hour ago."

"Guilty." says Kelly.

"All right, well he's one of the worst of the bunch. Twice called up on murder charges but they never stuck. He's been in county for assault for breaking a guy's jaw but that's the only one that ever stuck."

"Where does that leave us?" Kensi questions.

"I got word from my CI that Vince is bragging about how he's gonna kill a fireman tonight." Lindsey replies.

"I'll take my chances."

"All the same I'm going to leave a cruiser parked out side." Detective Lindsey hands out her card to the firemen. They say their thanks and Severide leaves to walk the detective and the victim out.

Back inside, Kensi was helping a boy get settled on to a cot for the night. She made idle take with his parents but wasn't really paying attention until she saw Casey walk by. She excused herself and felt into step with Matt.

"Hey,"

"Hey. Where've you been hiding? I've hardly seen you." Casey says as the walk the halls.

Kensi shrugs. "Kinda everywhere. Mostly in the back with kids and they're parents. You?"

"Ah, Kelly and I went to check on the generator earlier." Kensi watched as he fumbled around his words, like there was something he was leaving out.

"Matt-"

_"Truck 81, squad 3, ambulance 61, engine 51, battalion 25. People down, unknown causes."_

They left the conversation unfinished and headed to the bay area to get their gear on and head to the next call. The drive down the dark streets seemed to take longer than normal but they still managed to make good time and arrived at the home.

"Uh, where's the call?" Casey asked when a voice called out.

"Hey, we don't know what happened to them." the see a couple of teenagers with flashlights pointing to a home right in front of them. "We knocked on the door but they didn't answer. And then we looked in the window-"

Kensi walked up the icy steps and peered inside. She saw a family of four, unconscious in front of a lit fire. Without saying a word, the teams masked up while Boden called it in. Leading the way, Collins broke the door in and first went to check on one of the children.

"Carbon monoxide! Almost 800 million parts per million here!" Severide says.

"Let's move!" Grabbing the boy into her arms, Kensi exited the building and went straight to a waiting Shay an Rafferty.

* * *

"He's avoiding me. Why would he avoid me?"

"Who you talkin' to?"

Kensi looked up to see Severide around a corner with a smile on his face. "What?"

"Are you talking to yourself?"

"Matt's avoiding me." she blurts out. "And I don't know why."

Kelly pursed his lips together and took a few steps towards Mackenzie. "I doubt he's avoiding you." he pulled her into a quick hug before asking, "Have you see him by chance?"

"Yeah, uh, he was heading towards his office. Or somewhere back there."

"Thank, Kensi!"

She hadn't gotten very far before she saw Detective Lindsey headed her way. "Collins, right?"

"Yeah."

"I thought I recognized you. I've seen you at Molly's with Halstead." Mackenzie smiled. "Where's Chief Boden?"

Collins led her to the back where she knew the chief was. When she got there she saw Severide and Casey too. Erin got right to the point. "I heard chatter from my CI that Vince Keeler sent somebody over here to rough up Kelly." she held up her phone with a picture of who they should keep an eye out for.

Grabbing an extra flashlight that was sitting on a table, Kensi followed Matt as the five of them split up to cover more ground in the search. They looked through the common area and along the halls where people her resting but came up empty when they spotted Severide. They shook their heads.

"I'll check up front again." says Collins. She just brushed pass a hooded figure as she left she heard Casey shout for the person to stop. Kensi turns and sees Matt tackle the figure from behind, bringing them both to the ground. She rushed over just as the man slams Matt into the wall to get him off of his back.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw him raise a wrench above his head as he prepared to strike a dazed Casey. Moving quickly she kicks the man back and slides protectively in front of Matt at the same time she hears Detective Lindsey yell for him to drop his weapon.

"Put it down or I swear I'll put you on the floor."

The man listens and Lindsey quickly cuffs him. Kelly rushes over to help Casey and Collins in to a nearby chair. Matt up rubbing his head, wincing slightly. "Pretty sure I used up another one of my nine lives."

"I think you're in double digits by now."

"Hey, you two all right?" Chief Boden asks his lieutenants.

Kensi nodded as she went to help people get back home now that the grid was back on. But before she left, she says to Matt. "I need to talk you after shift. It's important."

"Okay. How about you come over to my place and I'll cook breakfast. It's been awhile since we've done that."

"As long as I get to use your shower, too."

It wasn't long before the sun broke through the clouds at the end of another shift. Mackenzie drove to Casey's, wondering if Dawson was going to be there too since he didn't mention if she was or not. She parked on the side of the road, got out her car and walked up the few steps to the front door. She knocked a few times and waited, but he didn't reply. Kensi thought about calling his phone for a second but decided to try the door first. It was unlocked.

"Matt?" she calls out so he'll know it's her. "It's Kensi. Hello?" After checking the kitchen and living room, she heads upstairs where she hears running water in one of the bathroom. "Matt?"

Mackenzie looks through the open door and finds Casey standing in front of a sink. It wasn't the blank look he had on his face that worried or shocked her but the drops of blood that was coming out of his ear.

Casey sees her reflection in the mirror. "Kensi? I-" was all he managed to get out before Collins collapses to the floor.

"Kensi!"

**Here's Mackezie's outfit for the end of the episode. Remove () (http) :/ (www) . (polyvore) (never_alone_c13) (/set?id=112525734)**

**Any guesses as to what the call to Kensi was about and what she needed to talk to Casey about? Let me know your thoughts in the review section. :)**


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